Mass Effect: Ascension and Downfall
by Dr.Compass
Summary: The Reapers have arrived, the galaxy burns, and all that remains relies on the actions of a collective handful of heroes as the rush to save lives and salvage materials needed to stop the invasion and end the cycle rages on. The burdens return to the shoulders of Fredrick Müller, a hellbent space marine slowly turning into the enemy he so greatly despises.
1. Chapter 1: Interbellum

Chapter 1: Interbellum

 _Fredrick,_

 _I don't know whether I can find the most appropriate context under which I can explain myself, or find the will to say so before my twilight finally strikes. However, I will at least leave a note for you. A warning of sorts. I know I can't help answer every question you have, but do heed my warning. Do not feel rage when I say that you are my greatest regret._

 _I see you enter the vast unknown prepared to combat pirates and criminals supposedly for the common good, but I feel you are among our kind generating discomfort more than you are creating a safer galaxy. I can't help but think back to the time I was arguing with Captain Yuri about what to make of you before you initially came out of your growth jar. He said you were needed to defend our small populace while I argued that your strengths would better be placed in keeping people safe on the new homeworld. We compromised, but I see he still gets his way most of the time._

 _Maybe I wouldn't worry so much if I did know what lay ahead of you. Your career, the mystery of the Protheans, who you'll be recognized as, and much more would bring me comfort in my elder age. But here I stand, the apple of my eye doubling as a thorn in my side. I only hope for the best in your near future. Please prove me wrong._

 _Andrew_

* * *

 **Sept 22, 2185**

 **19 hrs/03 min/21 sec**

 **Maximum security, Khonsu, Nile System, Ra Nebula**

The technicians checked the cryopod vitals to ensure the colonel was still alive and unconscious. "Sir, the pod is active and Colonel Müller is under its full effect."

 _"And his equipment?"_ the captain of the prison wing asked.

"In out processing. It'll be waiting for him when he's called for." The riot troops and engineers began to make their way back to their respective posts.

 _"Good. Return back up here, someone wants to talk with you about the colonel. Specifically, monitoring."_

"Yessir." He marched back to the main control tower, overlooking much of the facility. After exiting the elevator, he marched up to the captain and saluted. "You called, sir?"

"Ahem, I did." Another voice from the side called to him. Turning to look, a short-haired albino man in the standard gray officer uniform walked forward, reaching a hand out. "Hello, private. I'm Captain Nolan White, I was just transferred to the naval forces in regard to the recent information dug up by the good colonel. I appreciate you taking the time to talk." Despite being well over a century

The engineer reached out to shake the hand. "It's an honor sir. What do you need to discuss concerning our most recent inmate?"

"Just some monitoring. It's important to our current security," the captain explained. "So far, we aren't dealing with a normal infected victim here, and his case could go for the better or worse. In short, I need you to scan him on a weekly basis, and send me the scannings as well as any notes concerning abnormalities that you might spot. Of course, if he starts developing the symptoms of infection and so much as reaches a level three infection, terminate him. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir. Absolutely clear, sir," the engineer replied.

"As you were." Nolan managed to keep a level face as he spoke, but was wound up on the inside. _"Sorry, buddy. You'd understand."_

* * *

 **Sept 21, 2185**

 **18 hrs/19 min/53 sec**

 **Captain's cabin, SSV _Normandy_ , returning from the Hourglass Nebula**

If it's one thing Linda did take from the orphanage she was moved to after she first saw the insane Terran was that you couldn't judge a book by it's cover. Fredrick, while an irredeemable asshole for the most part, was like trying to read the entirety of Issac Asimov's Robot series in one sitting. He could genuinely be crazy, but there were so many parts in his autobiography that not one single bit could be cited as the main cause. "Jesus, how the hell is this bastard not dead?"

Garrus was in his civies and reclining on the couch with a glass of wine in his hand. "Beats me. My dad didn't really tell me much about him."

From her desk, Linda glared through her holo-screen at him. She didn't know how to feel after the fighting like hell through the Shadow Broker's ship. She felt frightened when he initially went down from the first blow, and was unable to check his vitals under the hail of fire from Yahg. Afterwards, when Liara, the new Shadow Broker, gave her files on many of her friends and what little of her family she could get at, she found files pertaining to Garrus' own family, specifically his mother. While she'd been slowly degrading from a genetic disease, he'd been playing space-Batman on Omega instead of at home, trying to comfort her. While the Collector corpses still collecting dust in Mordin's lab could provide the breakthrough the doctors needed to develop a treatment, she was pissed at Garrus for not coming out with it sooner. "Still, the fight would've been much easier if he was still here."

Between sips, Garrus replied, "He wouldn't have lasted two minutes against Fredrick if he were there."

It was long and she already knew enough. Clicking off the window, she decided to move onto Jack ready to peer into whatever secrets she had. It would help her in the long run, right? She took the sandwich from her plate and took another bite from it.

He looked at his omnitool. The night was still young, but it was the opportunity still stared at him like an enemy sniper, simultaneously scoped in. Putting the glass down, he stood up and put one hand in his pocket. "Linda, darling, before this galaxy goes to hell, I want to do one last thing. After your return, I decided to do some research."

She turned to look at him as he walked by the fish tank and up to the desk with a raised eyebrow and a slight smile. "Look, if you're in the mood for some sex, there's no need to beat around the bush."

"No no no, not biology-related. Cultural. I already went through the pain of losing you once. Even if one or both of us die in this next invasion, I want to have something in the back of my mind to keep me going." Garrus got down on one knee, pulled a small black box from his pocket, and opened the lid. "Linda Shepard, will you take my hand and be my mate?"

What? She slowly rose to her feet. She had been asked by a few guys in the Alliance when she was younger, but she did not expect to hear those words from Garrus. Inside the small black box was a small, silver band with an emerald imbedded in the center. "I- Garrus, you do know what you're asking, right?"

"I did my research, and I know this is what I want. I wouldn't want anything less than to spend the rest of my life with you. I can understand if yo-"

"I do, Garrus. I do." She could barely keep the streams of tears from rolling down her cheeks as he slipped on the ring. "Well, we've got time until the Reapers come and burn the galaxy down. Think we've got time for the wedding?"

The two wrapped their arms around each other as Garrus returned to full height before tapping foreheads together. "I'm sure we can fit it in."

* * *

 **Oct 12, 2185**

 **10 hrs/36 min/04 sec**

 **Urdnot Camp, Tuchanka, Krogan DMZ**

Urdnot Grunt was put in command of Aralakh Company after his return to Tuchanka. Wrex, as the devout leader of Clan Urdnot felt the tank-born Krogan represented the future of their race, a symbol of hope. He remembered the behavior of Wrex when he briefly talked with the Terran doctor, and wanted to know more. Walking through the camp, he walked up onto the throne area and saluted. "Clanleader Wrex."

Wrex nodded in acknowledgement. "Commander Grunt, what did you have in mind?"

"You seemed to know much about Colonel Müller of the Terran forces. What do you know about him?" Grunt asked.

Wrex chuckled as he began, "He's a good friend. We've had plenty of history with each other. He's insane, strong, dedicated to the causes and individuals he fights for, and he's as much a soldier as any of us Krogan are. I would be proud to call him my brother."

"I was thinking more along the lines of who he is based upon his history."

"You might want to sit then. You're in for a long, strange story."

* * *

 **Nov 7, 2185**

 **08 hrs/03 min/04 sec**

 **[classified], Earth, Sol System, Local Cluster**

Even in such grim times, he couldn't help but still throw one back. Part of the old adage for the group. Final arrangements had been put in place, the kids were about to enter cryo, and he'd be going under himself soon enough before departing. He felt sad abandoning this galaxy, leaving them to fight the fight themselves instead of defending Earth. He couldn't bare the though of Earth being a lifeless ball, whether it be from the invasion or the crumbling of civilization centuries later, when all he knew and left behind would be long gone.

Putting the finishing touches on the documents in front of him, his monitor lit up with an incoming call. Opening the call, he greeted, "Julianos, thanks for calling me. Even with what's going on, not a lot of people admit to knowing me."

It was a Turian with chalky white plates and the distinct blue colony marks of the Vakarian clan. Smiling, Julianos replied, _"I owe you. Those were good days back on the Citadel. I checked back with my son, Garrus. He used to work there at C-Sec, now with the defense force back at home."_

"Why the sudden change from away to the homeworld?" he asked.

 _"He said the council believes Commander Shepard's story is bogus. A couple years after he left, the bombshell dropped, and now I have my own doubts,"_ Julianos paused, almost with hesitation as he glanced to the side.

"This threat... they're calling them 'Reapers'?" He hadn't heard much about the monstrosities before until the aforementioned bombshell dropped. The Alliance officials he did talk to simply denounced them as mythical.

 _"Shepard's word for them, the Terrans call them 'Harvesters.' Not sure which is worse. They come through, burn civilization galaxy-wide to the ground every fifty thousand years. An extinction event. I met the Wolf during my days at C-Sec. I didn't know just how deeply involved he was with this until he made it apparent that the alarm's about to go off... again,"_ Julianos answered. Gradually, his tone went from eased to see an old friend to worrying for the existence of everything around him.

He sighed. "Ah, shit..."

 _"I know. But Garrus says she's as level-headed as she gets. Takes after most of you N7s. So if the commander says these Reapers are coming, I don't want to be around to see them."_ Julianos got up to end the call.

He turned for a moment to prod the projector to his left one more time. Initiating another call, he turned his attention to the screen. It was a females' voice, but it was the image of an elder African-American male. She was keeping a shifting image to maintain identity secrecy. _"Yes?"_

"I checked around," he replied. "Looks like shit will be hitting the fan after all."

She sighed as the image shifted to that of a blue skinned Salarian. _"Like I told the board, if there is a war, the scramble for resources will be on a scale we've never seen before. The chaos will be monumental."_

He nodded as her projected image once again switched to an Asian woman. "Then it's a good thing we've accelerated the timetable."

 _"Still, we should leave while the uproar is at a minimum. The arks must be underway before any fighting begins. We can't get caught in the crossfire."_

He barely bit back a smirk as the image showed a green Turian. "Agreed."

 _"Is there something else?"_

"Years ago, you mentioned 'salvation'... you _knew_ this was coming."

 _"The Terrans, specifically the Wolf, made it apparent something was coming. The Wolf and Shepard dropped the blindfold, showing our reality. Naturally, we'll need a new home. If all else fails, we'll be all that's left of our civilization."_

"And what about the Wolf? He's proven himself that he's up for the climb and that he's devoted to defending this galaxy."

 _"You may trust him, but I don't. I would trust him better if the Terrans would declassify his current standing."_

"I see. Thanks for your time. If you'll excuse me, I have one more thing to do." He ended the call before looking at the projector, now displaying a blue cloud, like a nebula. "SAM, call the kids and tell them their old man needs to talk... it's urgent."

"Yes sir," the AI replied, pulsating with each syllable it uttered.

* * *

 **Dec 2, 2185**

 **12 hrs/02 min/30 sec**

 **Aldrin Space Port**

"Is everything ready?" Admiral Hashimoto asked.

 _"Yes, admiral. The dreadnoughts are in place throughout all our territories. We can begin mass-evacuation on a moment's notice,"_ Amory reported.

"Good to hear, wing commander." Even the mere thought of anything else was nice to put his mind off the constant threats the Hegemony put out, demanding that they hand over the colonel to carry out their own form of 'justice.' The admirals attention was drawn to the control tower entrance as Captain White and Major Schmitt entered, continuing a conversation they were holding on the elevator. "What's the trouble now, captain?"

"Most recent report from high security, admiral. Is it okay if I temporarily borrow one of the monitors?" Nolan asked. After subsequently plugging the data into the holo table at the center of the room, a projection of Fredrick's bodily scan came up. "This is our most recent scan. So far, it indicates that his brain is still undergoing the rewiring process despite the cryo-effects on his systems. This time, there has been one small change that has appeared."

The projection zoomed in on the base of the neck. Stripping down the projections of other tissue, it only showed the skeleton and implants. Growing into the back of the spine was a small bit that hadn't been there previously. "Is that a-?"

"It's a neural synchronizer alright," Lauren answered for the Admiral. "It wasn't there before, since he has no role as an engineer, and it sure isn't of our design."

"So over the course of his time under, his body has naturally grown a new implant?" Hashimoto asked, taken aback. "What are you suggesting we do to handle this new issue?"

"We were going to ask you that, sir," Nolan answered. "We would like to bring him out and excise it, however, we don't know whether it'll grow back regardless or if he'll be hostile if he at all wakes up during the medical operation."

The admiral sighed. "I don't know. The others agree that he's to be brought out when the Harvesters finally arrive, but this is new. I'll have to bring this up next time. Anything else?"

"That's all, admiral. We'll be waiting for your response," Lauren answered.

"Look, I can understand why you two are concerned, but please just put him out of your minds for the time being. I know he's been your friend for the longest time, but there's simply nothing we can do for him. Now, you two are dismissed." The two soldiers turned and left the room, leaving the admiral to continue staring at the projection of the implant.

* * *

 **Dec 31, 2185**

 **23 hrs/49 min/13 sec**

 **Alliance HQ, Vancouver, Earth, Sol System, Local Cluster**

Linda decided to take some time off from the new years' celebration on Earth to check in with Garrus. As was her current role in the Alliance, he'd been called back home to Palaven to act as an advisor for the Hierarchy troops. Initiating a call from her desktop, Garrus' face showed up not too long afterwards. _"Hey Linda, is everything alright?"_ her husband asked.

"Hi Garrus, I just wanted to check in and see if you're alright. Everything's fine for the time being. Is your dad still getting used to the idea of us being together? He did seem unwilling to talk at the wedding," Linda replied with a small smile.

 _"He may be a traditionalist, and ready to follow orders to the letter, but he's happy that we're together. He's somewhat softened up by mom's death. Other than that, I've been barely keeping up with work here,"_ Garrus returned with a small chuckle before turning to a slightly somber tone.

"Yeah," Linda agreed as her smile faded and she looked away from the camera. "It almost feels too good, doesn't it?"

Now Garrus frowned with concern. _"What's wrong?"_

"I was just wondering what it'd be like if I were calling you from house-arrest instead. If I had gone down in the Viper Nebula instead," she continued. It simply didn't feel fair, especially considering the outcome Müller had to face.

 _"Honey, look, he knew this would happen and as much as he is who he is, he does all the wrong things for the right reasons. I wouldn't forgive myself if I watched you walk off into Alliance custody after we returned from the Viper Nebula."_ His eyes begged to see her return to her happy state.

Gradually, her smile returned. "I suppose. Hey, what did you want to do about kids?"

Garrus blinked. _"Well, I hadn't really thought about it. I figured maybe we would adopt some war orphans once the dust clears. We aren't in any rush, are we?"_

Shrugging, Linda answered, "Just a thought. It sounds nice considering I barely knew my own parents. And who knows? I kinda thought of-"As the fireworks began to explode in the night sky, Anderson pinged her. "Ah, shit. Gotta go! I'll try and call you back tomorrow! Love you!"

 _"Have a nice night! I love you too!"_

* * *

 _"He's connected to the system, but I cannot establish a link."_

 _"Are you sure?"_

 _"Yes. It might be due to the previously established firewalls within their systems."_

 _"Has the firewall not been overwritten?"_

 _"Due to the spontaneous nature to which he has been installed within our systems, his development has been out of our control, and is subsequently something unidentified."_

 _"I'll be keeping an eye on our point of entry. Keep looking at the problem and find a way around."_

* * *

 **Feb 11, 2186**

 **16 hrs/11 min/38 sec**

 **Specter Academy, Citadel Station**

 _"This is the Homeworld Maximum Security line for communicating with inmates, please state who you're trying to contact?"_ a dull voice responded as she called.

"This is Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams, I'd like to speak with Colonel Müller please," she answered. She had asked for a number to call from Henry, one of Fred's older squadmates.

 _"I'm sorry, the colonel is currently unavailable in his current status. We can save a message from you for when we do bring him out. Would that be preferable?"_ the dull voice droned on.

It would have to do. "Yeah sure, just give me a sec," she sighed with lingering defeat. She looked up at the camera's optic piece before greeting, "Hey Fred, it's me Ashley. I wish we could've talked more that day when you got back with another run with Shepard. I'm almost jealous that you got to go along instead of staying here with Specter training. But if it's any consolation, I..." She looked down at the medal in her hand. Clenching it in her hand for a few seconds, she held it to the camera before explaining, "Kaidan and I finally graduated. There wasn't much of a ceremony, but I wished you were there for it. I even gave a bit thanking you for pulling me together back on the SR-1. Remember that? Those were good times." She blinked a few times to keep the tears back. "Ugh, now I'm just droning on. Listen, whatever the hell they're doing to you back there, please get out some time soon. We need you. As much as things die around you, you're the driving force for this whole thing, and we owe you more than turning you into a goddamned popsicle. End message."

 _"Thank you. We'll be sure he gets it when he goes to out-processing."_

"Thanks officer." She got up and looked out the window into the Presidium. Now she waits.

* * *

 **March 23, 2186**

 **18 hrs/39 min/05 sec**

 **Purgatory, Citadel Station**

"Damn. You crazy bastards stuck around with him?" A graying African American Alliance marine was talking to Samara, Thane, Kolyat, and Zaeed. "I remember training under that nut before shipping off to Torfan. He's crazy, but he knows how to get in and out of hell, I'll give him that."

"He is quite the survivor, and is incredibly adaptable," Thane complemented. "Don't let his role as support-commander fool you. He's very capable of holding his own."

"Damn right. Back when I was leading the Blue Suns, I thought I might get away with setting up camp a bit close to Terran territory. He goes in alone, drops from orbit, sneaks into my camp, and sets coordinates for an orbital bombardment. That creeper is not to be taken lightly," Zaeed commented.

Samara put down her own glass before adding, "We do have our doubts about him, but he's still trustworthy in the midst of combat. I can recall a few scenarios at his side where I probably wouldn't have made it out alive if it weren't for his skills and abilities."

"I see," the Alliance veteran replied. "Maybe he's just more comfortable with a smaller crew? We got shot to hell on Torfan, but he still led us to victory at the end of the day, no matter what the media says to take him down."

"Amen to that," Zaeed said before throwing back another.

* * *

 **April 9, 2186**

 **11 hrs/24 min/40 sec**

 **Aldrin Space Port, Khonsu, Ra System, Nile Nebula**

"So we've basically done nothing to help him?" Admiral Hashimoto said between bites of a sandwich. He started eating lunches at work to be able to remain active. Nolan, the admiral, and Mary were looking over one of the maximum security engineers' explanation of the most recent scan.

"For all we can tell, it would've been better to just leave him in a cell instead. While the rate at which the virus can flow through his systems has been slowed by the cooling effects of the cryo-stasis, so has his body's ability to resist the virus' progress. Overall, one cancels the other out," the engineer concluded. "However, we have developed a script to help give him more time once he wakes up."

Walking up to the group was one of the communications officers. "Sir, a new message just came out of Hegemony space, but not demanding for the colonel this time."

"What is it? Yet another demand for the colonel? I thought I told them to stop sending those," Nolan asked, raising an eyebrow as he turned to face the officer.

"It's a distress signal. We sent a message back asking what was the issue, but we've yet to receive a response. It's been an hour, sirs."

A deafening silence fell over the group. "Private, get the colonel out of cryo ASAP, the rest of you get back to your stations, and begin evacuation. It was a nice seven months while it lasted, ladies and gentlemen. We've prepared for this moment, now let's make it happen."


	2. Chapter 2: Wake-up Call

Chapter 2: Wake-up Call

 _Cryostasis, one of the few methods the first colonists used to get to Khonsu. Gradually Earth found more efficient fuels to use of the course of a year before the wormhole closed. The sensation it provided was often refuted to be terrifying, 'like drowning in the arctic regions.' Under the effects of the cold, one's metabolism slows to a crawl, and their body is forced to function at a crawl, but not entirely. Unlike when people would normally sleep, the REM is much slower, and the mental functions that would normally result in dreaming or thoughts during sleep are brought entirely to a halt. What is experienced is almost like a void between life and death: nothing._

* * *

 **UNK ?, ?*?***

 **? hrs/? min/? sec**

 **Homeworld maximum security facility**

He stirred for a moment. His eyes cracked open, slowly adjusting to the light pouring in from the glass. It seemed more natural, less like the pale, bright LEDs he remembered. The pod no longer had the distinct hum of energy buzzing or the hiss of the cryo module. Maybe they were bringing him out. The pod locks hissed as it was pried open and he gasped a breath of fresh air. Gradually climbed out. "Hello?" he asked.

His senses must've been adjusting. He could only hear this non-sensical blur of speech. At least he thought it was speech. The restraints on his neck and wrists just seemed to crumble as he struggled to support himself on the cryopod. Two figures raced forward to help him to his feet. The main problem was those hands that helped him were clearly not Terran. His eyes finally adjusted to see the two who were helping him. "No..."

How long had it been? What he saw before him was what clearly was the long-lost descendent of the Pyjack and the Varren respectively with what looked to be a humanoid with a parrot's head standing in back. Their armor looked relatively simple with small plates on top of a rigorous body glove. The continued to speak to him, but the language was foreign and unintelligible, given he was more accustomed to what was now a set of dead languages. Looking around, the maximum security was now in ruins. Panels had come off the floor and walls, wires and beams hung like rotting tendons from a corpse, and the only source of light was a massive hole in the ceiling, from which vines and water now dripped.

"No, this can't... I gave them a chance, they must've..." He crumpled to the floor in tears. It was over. Everything and everyone he fought for, gone. The years of pain and trial he experienced, all for nothing. Were the Harvesters truly that overwhelming? Shaking him, the Pyjack and the Varren quickly dragged him to his feet as they yelled among each other in panic, looking up through the hole in the ceiling, he could see the looming form of a Harvester, just over the ruins. It let loose a bellowing howl like the horn of a ship off the dock.

The blaring boom shook him awake.

 **April 9, 2186**

 **15 hrs/10 min/50 sec**

 **Homeworld maximum security facility**

His breathing was labored, as the cryostasis slowly wore off. In the pod, he could hear the cooling module buzz, slowly getting less aggressive. Outside, he could barely make out the artificial lights of the prison wing. The restraints around his neck and wrists continued to hold tight onto him. He had nightmares every now and then, but there was always this distinct fog that helped the mind differentiate a dream from reality. This time, it felt surreal to the point it was almost indistinguishable from actual experience. "Hello?"

He jumped as the seals clicked and the pod hissed open. Adjusting his eyes to the full blast of the artificial lights, he could see Terran guards outside. Hooking up poles to his collar, one said, "Time to get up, colonel. Admiral's orders."

Fredrick was yanked up and brought up to his feet. "H-how looong?" His mind was still swimming with drowsiness.

"Seven months, sir. Now it's time to move," another guard said.

Fredrick looked over to the far side of the room, seeing long rows of inmates being brought along with orange, holographic chains. "What happened? What's going on?"

"We're initiating a mass-evacuation across all territories. The Hegemony have been demanding for your head on a plater the whole time you were asleep. This morning, we received a distress signal from Hegemony territory. Returning their call, it took three hours for some desperate bastard to say, 'They're here.' We hope you're ready, we won't have time to have you sit around and sip coffee while trillions are on the line," the leader of the guards answered.

He took a few seconds to shake himself and look back at the captain. "Alright, get me out of these restraints and get me to out-processing. My armor's there and I want to see to it everyone gets off."

"Don't worry, colonel. Almost the entire planet has been evacuated, and the civilians are safely away. We still have science teams, military personnel, and prison inmates to ship out though. Although by the sound of things, the Harvesters just hit the council races, so we don't have much longer. This w-" The captain of the guard was interrupted by a big explosion from the ceiling, sending debris tumbling below, narrowly diving out of the way, the bits of ceiling crushed a few guards standing behind him. Looking back up, a Harvester was seen in the distance, bellowing like a whale. Quickly afterwards, what looked to be corrupted Batarians started pouring in from the breach. Along with the usual signs of decayed skin and synthetic components typical to corrupted corpses, their upper bodies had heavily contorted and expanded with large growths on their back, their left arm had become shriveled with dystrophy, and their right arm had grown a claw-like cannon.

With quickly, more breaches sprung up in the facility, and more of the synthetic undead poured in. "Colonel! Run! Get to out-processing and get to command! We'll cover you! Go!"

"Get me out of these fucking restraints!" Fredrick growled. "I can't fight or do anything with these on!" Unfortunately, the guards were becoming overwhelmed, and the still captive inmates were struggling against their restraints as they were attacked and subsequently butchered by the invaders. Barely ripping off the guiding poles, he ran through the crowds, narrowly dodging fire. "Fucking wonderful," he muttered. Up ahead, he could see quarantine doors slowly closing, and began to pick up his pace.

About to reach the door, he's quickly pounced from behind by one of the corrupted Batarians. Struggling to keep its green bile off of him he quickly kicked it off, tossed it around with his biotics and crawled the rest of the way through the door as it shut behind him. "Shit, man! You alright?!" Another few inmates ran up to him as he crawled out.

"Look at his uniform. He's from the popsicle section, and looks fresh too," a large, beefy woman commented, eyeing him.

"Well that doesn't mean we're leaving him here. Help me get these restraints off and get him to his feet!" the third, scrawny man barked.

"Yeah, one sec." The first one had a guard's omnitool with which he tweaked with the restraints. "You aren't going to jump on us are you? Guys like you are kept in the cooler for a reason."

"We're all in the same boat, I've got no reason to do so," Fredrick answered honestly. To be fair, it would only prove to be detrimental to his survival if he did kill off these other inmates. With the cuffs and neck restraint off, he slowly pushed himself onto his feet. "Alright, now which way is to out-processing? I can get my stuff and get the rest of you out of here in one piece."

"You sure? You may have the high-end stuff, but that doesn't mean I have to trust you," the woman asked, crossing her arms in disbelief.

"I've gone toe-to-toe with these monstrosities before. I know how to crush some undead when it calls for it," Fredrick replied.

"If you say so." Pulling out the guard's omnitool again, the first inmate found a map. "Looks like it's all the way near the entrance of the facility. I heard they're still doing mass-evacuations. We get there, we might make it out of here."

"Fine, but I'm not giving him a gun," the woman repeated.

His green biotics ignited across his torso. "Don't worry, I don't necessarily need a gun. I'm a brawler too."

"Good! Let's go!" After a brief introduction, not much banter passed between Fredrick and the other inmates. As most of the facility was now under lockdown, with most of the remaining inmates being caught with the corrupted Batarians, the group cut through a small hospital for the criminally insane and inmates who managed to hurt themselves. Quickly, they learned that the corrupted Batarians would feast off the corpses of their fallen comrades to gain extra chitinous plating on their torso.

Nearly, one of the inmates were pounced on by what looked to be a husk before Fredrick slammed it against the wall hard with his biotics. "Damn! I've seen one of those creepers before on the Citadel when Saren went crazy!" the scrawny man replied. "Why the hell is it so... beefy? It looks taller than those older freaks."

"Those were made from otherwise normal Humans, without any sort of prior augmentations," Fredrick explained. "Terrans are just bigger in general."

"Shh! Did you hear that?" the woman hushed as she crept along a corner. The group followed her and peaked as they watched two more of the corrupted Terrans pile a doctor and two nurses in a stack. Kneeling down on the pile of corpses, two rivers of nanites flowed over the corpses from the undead Terrans onto the pile. What rose up was a blue, pulsating blob with a cannon, similar to what he had encountered when Shepard had been revived by Cerberus. "What the fuck..."

"Stay back, I'll try to deal with them," Fredrick said, allowing the nanites to coat his body. Running at the three, he grabbed the arm of one, tore it out, used it to smack the other to the ground before curb stomping it, throwing a warp at the first to tear it in half before tearing at the last one until it was little more than a pile of gray goop and undistinguishable parts.

"Holy hell, how did you get a hold on advanced-level nanite glands?" the scrawny inmate asked.

"I'll explain later." With more sudden surprises along the way, Fredrick dangerously guided the trio of inmates through the undead and around survivors until they reached the other side. It was the front gate he remembered entering through after being arrested for destroying the Viper Nebula.

"There's the exit, and there's the barracks! I want a better gun- hey! Where are you going?!" The woman noticed as Fredrick made a jog straight to the out-processing center. Breaking in, he helped the others get their belongings.

Scanning the room, Fredrick found a big, military-specs crate with a biometrics lock. Putting his hand to it, it clicked open before he pushed the lid and and pulled out the all-too familiar helmet of his. "Ah, perfect."

* * *

 **15 hrs/55 min/38 sec**

 **Aldrin Space Port ruins, Khonsu**

Normally, the admiral wore an officer uniform, but currently wore basic armor for protection. While everyone had been hit within the last few hours, the Terrans had taken the least amount of damage in terms of numbers. Unfortunately, they were still evacuating military forces and numerous science teams who were needed to save the galaxy. The other races had been helping construct a hidden superweapon on Mars known as the Crucible, yet another set of ruins from the Prothean Age. With it, they could fry the Harvesters in their entirety, ending them all in a single, Galaxy-wide blast. "Any luck?"

He and a few other officers were standing at an improvised holotable. The few Harvesters who did enter the system were fighting their dreadnoughts in orbit, and the Terran spacecraft were doing very well outside of situations of being overwhelmed by numbers. "Barely sir. They're holding out, but we can't get through to them. Should we send forces their way?"

"No, have the troops continue to evacuate, we will work with what we have," Hashimoto insisted. "I promise you, Colonel Müller is alive."

"With all due respect, sir," another officer started in disagreement. "We lost contact with maximum security almost an hour ago when they entered the system. The colonel couldn't have possibly survived."

The table beeped with an incoming message. "This is Admiral Hashimoto, who is this?"

 _Admiral, I've just made it out of maximum security with three other inmates. Are you still at Aldrin Space Port?_ the colonel's distinct voice answered.

The group sighed with relieve. "We're still here. It's music to our ears to know you're alive. Are any other survivors coming from the prison?"

 _None sir. We're making our way to the space port. Don't worry about the inmates, I've reviewed the terms of their parole,_ Fredrick reassured.

"How's that?"

 _Behave, and they get to stay with the refugees until the dust clears. Break the rules and they get to volunteer at the front lines._

"Well, get back here. I'd like to discuss matters before we leave this planet behind."

 _Understood, sir. Colonel M_ _ü_ _ller out._

Another wave of silence passed between the officers. "Sir, I would like to ask again if you trust the colonel."

"He knows more about what he's doing than the rest of us. He hasn't lasted over a century and a half by being stupid," the admiral reassured.

* * *

 **16 hrs/32 min/51 sec**

"Stay close, we're almost there," Fredrick ordered as he took cover behind a crashed car as rain continued to pour down around them. It was eerie having passed through the square before the Aldrin Space Port so many times before, recognizing it as a home, only to see it tattered by the horrors of the Harvesters. Peaking over his shoulder, he quickly shot down a couple of corrupted Terrans, which he now dubbed 'Infectors' for their role on the field, before beckoning to the others that it was safe to move.

Rushing up the steps, he was greeted by Terrans soldiers with autoshotguns, both in their distinct blue and gray armor. "Colonel! Sorry sir, we thought you were approaching hostiles."

"At ease, lieutenant," Fredrick replied, eyeing the rank on the shoulder-pad. "Make sure these inmates are on the next ship out of here, they classify as civies for now."

"Understood sir. Admiral Hashimoto said to make sure you headed down to the basement as soon as you arrived. He's expecting you."

"Thanks. As you were, gentlemen." He walked down the flood-light lit stairwell leading into the lower levels of the base, where there were dozens of troops and civilians waiting for the next transport out. After pausing for a moment to reminiscently stare at a particular barracks area, he continued to make his way through to an open practice chamber, now reverted into a command center. Turning, Admiral Hashimoto turned to greet the weary medic, saying, "I'd knew you'd make it, colonel. You're just too stubborn to die."

"What's the situation like, admiral?" Fredrick asked with a salute.

"While you were under cryo, we've done our best to help the others prepare. Now, the galaxy is under siege, everyone is scraping together whatever resources they can to survive, and we're all banking our lives on a bit of Prothean salvage that they found almost a month ago on Mars, known as the Crucible. We don't know how far along it is, but it's a work in progress. Everyone else has their own concerns, but at least our people are relatively safe. Right now, your duty is to help get those scientists out of there."

"Got it sir. Anything specific about the others? Specifically Earth and Khar'Shan?" Fredrick inquired further.

"It's bad. Anyways, I'll be sending a squad with you out there to help those science team still trapped out there. They'll be needed to build the Crucible. Now before you go, I must know about your current condition."

Fredrick paused before shrugging and responding, "You know better than I do, admiral. I've just woken up, and I haven't seen a proper report on it yet. I was too busy making sure I slipped through the Harvesters' clutches."

 **"Do you really think you'll last any longer?"** They were interrupted by a sudden projection of Harbinger over the holotable. **"You really think this is a worthy cause to fight for? You know the outcome as well as the rest of us, Fredrick."**

"And let you continue with this madness?!" Fredrick growled. "You've been at this cycle for how long now?! Whatever you may claim it to be, you're not accomplishing anything by doing the same fucking thing over and over again! That's the text-book definition of insanity!"

 **"And has attempting to convince an ignorant galaxy of their fate been any different? The galaxy needs this and you know it,"** Harbinger countered. **"Besides, you could make this infinitely less painful if you just surrendered."**

"Your senseless rabbling is as bad as mine. And for such an entity who preaches perfection, salvation, and ascension, you've done little more than enforce chaos and destruction."

 **"Hmmmm. It's a shame we couldn't convince you. By the sound of things, we almost had you convinced."**

"Whatever. I'll see you in hell. And tell Nazara I said hello when you invariably get there first." Fredrick angrily shut off the projection before, leaving the other officers taken aback by the conversation. "How bad have the council races been doing?"

Clearing his throat, Hashimoto returned, "From the reports I've seen, it's bad. The rate at which the infection is moving through your systems has barely been slowed, and is now up to 35% before the Batarian distress signal came through. However, the effects of the virus have been minimal, aside from physical rearrangement of the neurons in your brain and the appearance of a neural synchronizer at the base of your neck. Do you remember getting that implemented?"

Fredrick raised an eyebrow as he answered, "No sir, I'm a field medic, not an engineer."

"Yes, well that's what your former engineer Captain White told me. I've got engineers ready to rig your system with a method to slow it down. It might reset some of your non-essential systems to factory zero, but it's necessary if any of us are going to continuously trust you. I know you'll understand," Hashimoto continued.

"I do. I can assure you that it'd be against my interest in every way to turn against what I've stood for until now. I'll keep up the fight whatever the cost may be. As for my condition..." Fredrick paused for a moment to pull out his side arm to observe it. The paint job he'd originally gotten on the Citadel three years prior hadn't faded too much, but the scratches at the edges were getting worse with each use. Observing it, he made sure it still worked with the customizations he had in place. "Unless we find a permanent solution, I'll see to it that the issue is resolved differently before I'm too far gone."

"Are you sure you're willing to go through with it?"

"If it means making sure the Harvesters are gone for good, I will." Fredrick turned to head to the engineers for his next appointment. Maybe the others were faring a bit better.


	3. Chapter 3: We are Leaving

Chapter 3: We are Leaving

 _I ponder whether I should've left the force and become a doctor on the Citadel long ago. It at least would've been nice to blissfully live a bit longer, not become entangled as deeply in this mess. But could I really trust anyone else with the role I hold? Even if I was brought back in, it would've been far too late. I wouldn't know as much as I do now. Know... know..._

* * *

 **April 29, 2186**

 **18 hrs/07 min/44 sec**

 **Main Battery, SSV _Normandy_ , en route to Khonsu, Ra System**

Now in civies with an N7 hoodie, Linda walked through the doors and around the side of the battery to find Garrus hard at work. Instead of the solid blue heavy mercenary armor he wore after she died, he now wore a commando-class Turian armor with a chrome finish and blue trim. The medical cybernetics had come off, but the plates still showed heavy scaring from when he nearly had his head blown off on Omega. She felt some relief seeing him hard at work and safe. After leaving Earth when the Reapers finally hit, she remembered seeing Ashely have the piss taken out of her when they were sent to Mars to ward off the attacking Cerberus forces and secured the schematics for the Crucible. With the negative air that still lingered between herself and Kaidan, she needed someone by her side who she could hold close if she was going to get through this war. "Garrus. Didn't waste any time getting to work, I see."

Looking up from his work, Garrus put aside his tools as he rose to his feet. "After what I've been through lately, calibrating a giant gun is a vacation. Gives me something to focus on." As the Reapers invaded, they rained fire down on Palaven, Garrus' homeworld. He was stationed on one of the moons, Menae as a second line of defense while Hierarchy forces continued to be whittled away. With the general now promoted to Primarch to represent the Turians, they were returning to the Citadel to begin discussion about how to combat the invading Reapers.

She shrugged as she leaned against the wall. The Normandy was, since seven months ago, retrofitted to better suit Alliance regulations. However, that did mean undoing some of the impressive upgrades they implemented during their fight against the Collectors. "I... well, _we_ are going to need you for more than your aim."

"Oh, I'm ready for it, but I'm sure we'll still need giant guns – lots of them."

"You can't argue with that." The two closed the distance for a greeting hug. They had enough playing strong for the day, and needed to relax before diving back into the fight. "God, I was so worried when I heard they were invading Palaven."

Garrus tried to put off the thought of seeing his Homeworld in flames, thinking that it would be the same for countless other worlds. Feeling her hand against his right cheek, he explained, "The scars are starting to fade. I remember they drove you wild, and there's ample opportunity to get some more."

She couldn't help but let out a chuckle as she kissed him on his mouth plates. "You know, you could've just walked up to the room with your stuff," Linda said, gesturing to his foot locker in the corner. "But jokes aside, I can't promise how this war will unfold – not with this war – but I missed you, Garrus. I thought a lot about you."

"I missed you too, Linda. And I'm sure not letting Reapers get in between this marriage," Garrus replied before going to fetch his footlocker.

The couple walked through the mess hall to the elevator at the other side of the deck. "Speaking of which, you're the Turians' 'expert advisor' on the Reapers now?"

"After Colonel Müller's data drop, everyone was in a panic and the Hierarchy wanted someone who knew something. They were begging me," Garrus laughed nervously. "Frankly, I'm glad he did what he did. How does the Human saying go? Actions speak louder than words?"

"The wrong moves for the right cause makes all the difference. Speaking of the crazy doctor, we'll be picking him up along with crucial science personnel before heading to Sur'Kesh for the war summit. The Terrans still have troops down there and scientists who can help with the Crucible. However, they're under heavy pressure from the Reapers right now, and they need someone to help break the blockade and get them out of there." Linda was happy with how their relationship turned out. Normally, with what was going on currently, marriages were capable of undoing themselves very quickly.

"Yeah. If he's still down there, we could always use another set of arms and legs to help with the weight," Garrus sighed as he hailed the elevator. "I know so many depend on our actions right here on this ship. But if we're going to die fighting the Reapers, remember that we're in this together. As long as we get to say I got the killshot anyways."

The elevator arrived as Linda continued, "Whatever works for you, big guy. So why do you still have your armor on?"

"Didn't have time to take it off. Besides, I'd like to wash up before we continue anything."

She simply smiled. "I like the sound of that."

* * *

 **April 30, 2186**

 **13 hrs/46 min/43 sec**

 **Khonsu, Ra System, Nile Nebula**

Narrowly dodging a large swing, he initiated one more biotic charge before punching clean through the beast. The new monstrosity looked to be a merging of two Krogan corpses and one Turian corpse to create a gorilla-like creature. He heavily breathed as he relaxed himself from the previous fire fight. Three god damn weeks, and he might finally get to leave after this. He was tasked with running around to fetch scientists from their holdouts and safely escort them back to command for extraction if the opportunity was given. "Colonel, are you alright?" one of his subordinates asked.

He continued to breath and keep his silence. It was hard work, fighting with some of his systems he used for combat inactive. It felt like learning to use one's legs again after having their severed spinal cord reconnected in the hospital. "Fine. Let's keep moving before another patrol comes by. We can't afford another delay." The group ran over what was left of a tourist bridge to another group of labs. He distinctly remembered it as where he had sent Maelon Heplorn, Mordin Solus' protege, after they left Tuchanka the year before. He felt it was necessary to treat the Krogan Genophage if the species was going to survive the war.

"Standard procedure, sir?" his lieutenant asked.

"You got it. Sweep the area and be careful. We could have corrupted anywhere. Radio the others if you're having trouble and stick together. I lost a few guys who strayed off last time," Fredrick ordered. With one other soldier, he calmly walked down the steps into the basement area. Aside from a handful of infectors, a few 'cannibals', and a brute, there was very little in terms of resistance. Opening a set of heavy, sealed doors, he encountered a group of huddled scientists, a couple of lab guards, and a single Salarian in laboratory uniform.

"Ah! Rescue at last! Thank goodness you're here!" Maelon cried, getting up from cover.

"Dr. Heplorn, are you alright? Did you managed to secure your work before attempting an evacuation?" Fredrick asked as he approached with ease.

"Unfortunately not. We were compiling everything by the time those bastards hit us," one of the other lab workers answered. "It's still in the lab on an OSD."

Great. He couldn't afford to leave that research. Not now. "Private, escort the security detail and this science team back to the surface and wait for my return. Maelon, get the security doors open. I'll get in there, clean up, and come back with everything we need," he ordered as he walked up to the next sealed lab door, with a clear 'quarantine in effect' light overhead.

"Are you sure? That lab was overrun with a variety of husks by the time we even managed to shut it!" Maelon protested.

"Doctor, if three Thresher Maws simultaneously can't kill me, nothing of this scale will." Without another word, he stepped into the dark lab and the doors closed behind him with a loud clang. In the darkness, he could hear the moaning and screeching of the undead, hungering for him. His enhanced vision was still limited, so he turned on his helmet flood lights to see the mass of them slowly sulking forward to him. "Here I am, you maggot infested heaps of uncoordinated flesh! Come and get me!" he mocked as he ran forward, rifle blazing.

He ran like a madman around the dark labs, gunning them down at medium range, tearing them if they got close, using his biotics to thin them out if they clustered, and retreated if they were too close for comfort. He was constantly worrying that there would be something just behind him that he failed to notice, and they would pile up on him because one got him distracted just enough. Tossing a grenade, a tank of flammable liquid burst open, providing enough light to help see the remaining corrupted. _"In-infected presesesesence elimina-inated. Lockdown disengaaaaged,"_ the lab VI sputtered overhead as the lights gradually came back on again. One of the terminals in the heart of the labs lit up as the lockdown let up. Taking the OSD and walking back to the entrance, he had a good look around, looking at the heavy presence of Krogan corpses morphed into bigger enemies by the corrupted Terrans present.

 **"You see what you face? You see the futility? All those people who sought a future perished. There will** _ **be**_ **no future,"** a voice mocked at the back of his head. It felt like nails on a chalk board, irritating, despite how quiet it really was.

"We'll see who get's the last laugh," he muttered as he returned to the entrance. Walking out to the surface of the lab, the others were waiting for him as they fought off another wave of corrupted. It had become apparent more were arriving by the day as there were now a mix of Asari, Salarians, occasional Drell, Quarians, Turians, the aforementioned Krogan, and many more. _"Damn, they want me dead."_

"Sir, did you get the OSD?" one soldier asked.

"Right here, private. Now let's get back to HQ," Fredrick answered, flashing the device before tucking it in his front pouch where he once kept Alice's tags.

"Sir! Up there!"

Looking up, Fredrick saw an Alliance stealth cruiser fly in. Adjusting his sight, he could make out it was none other than the _Normandy_ , now with a new coat of paint matching the Alliance colors. "Sonuvabitch! Only one madwoman is crazy enough to come here of all places. No time to waste, let's go! We still have a couple more teams to extract!"

* * *

 **14 hrs/33 min/16 sec**

 **Remains of Aldrin Space Port, Khonsu**

After a quick drop in the shuttle, Kaidan, James, Garrus, and Linda dropped down in a shuttle to the planetside below. Very little of the Terran architecture still stood below. "Dios mio, they tore up this place," Vega muttered as he jumped out.

"I'm just saying that you two shouldn't trust him as openly as you do," Kaidan repeated. "He's done nothing to even sug-"

"Kaidan, can it. It's nobody's fault but yours that you got paralyzed. End of discussion," Linda interrupted. "You weren't there, we were. If you have any other complaints you can tell that to him directly. Otherwise, I can call the shuttle back and you can wait on the _Normandy_."

"I know we've only been back together for three weeks now, but can we please not tear each other apart just yet?" Garrus interrupted, rolling his eyes after picking off what looked to be a husk in the distance.

"Anyways, our main objective is the space port. One of the survivors, Admiral Hashimoto, said that they had refugees and military personnel there. We'll clear the nearby area to start getting civies out, we'll move out with the local troops to extract the last pockets, then we're pulling out. Understood?" Barely another word went between them besides the occasional callout of switching thermal clips or alerting the others of hostiles looming out of sight. They began to notice the heavy use of the beefier husks on Khonsu. Naturally, it would be more efficient to use dead Terrans, but something about them looked and felt different about normal husk. Instead of charging blindly at them and clawing them at close range, they were more ranged combatants. They threw black crystal shards not too different from the ones Garrus, Kaidan, and Linda knew Fredrick to use. Furthermore, they were much more resilient, more mobile, would cling to walls and were more prone to constantly moving between cover than most Reaper forces.

"Someone! Help us!" The team raced around a corner to see a limping Salarian with his shoulder over another Salarian's as the two were pursued by a squad of the corrupted Terrans. Before they could provide cover fire, the bulky husks rushed forward and started repeatedly stabbing the two. As green blood continued to fly, Garrus nailed two with a single shot as Linda tossed the other two aside, smashing their heads in on a crashed skycar.

"Vega, cover me. I'm checking those Salarians." Steadily creeping up to the fallen couple, Linda constantly kept her shotgun trained on in. Merely feet away, the two Salarians were now had their torsos merged, their skin rapidly decaying, blue tubes growing in and out of their bodies, blue pulsating eyes, and an ungodly howl as it stood up like a spider. It caught Linda by surprise as she tripped backwards, avoiding it's first lash.

"Linda! Look out!" Garrus quickly shot three sniper rounds into the newly formed monstrosity before it would finally go down.

"What the hell did those things do?!" Kaidan gasped, looking at the distorted Salarian bodies.

"Must've converted them on the fly," Garrus replied. "I've never seen anything like this before. I mean, we haven't seen many husks being created outside of being impaled on dragon's teeth."

"We can find out more later. We got to keep moving." Linda had a good look around as they continued to make their way through the ruined streets. In a way, the architecture on Khonsu wasn't all that different from the streets of New York like she remembered. How the buildings were laid out, the scatter of small businesses and shops among the towering industrial or financial structures, the homeliness feeling of the tight backstreets, there was an air of those sensations as they got closer, fighting through more undead. Exiting onto the courtyard facing the front of the building, now with what seemed to be a large chunk of the upper half missing, there was a group of Terran soldiers fighting off a wave of cannibals, normal husk, and Terran husks from their position at the top of the area.

"There it is. Let's give these guys a hand." Starting the counterattack with a shockwave to divide and scatter some of the attackers, the four of them began to advance before their path was crossed by another green shockwave from the other side of the courtyard. With their attention turned three directions, the survivors had a much easier time disposing the incoming threat. There at the other side stood the white and maroon devil himself with a squad of blue and gray behind him and nearly a dozen men and women in science uniforms. His height severely contrasted all those who stood behind him as Fredrick was even unusually tall for Terran standards.

"Shepard! Are we glad to see you! What are you doing this far in hell?" the colonel greeted, holstering his rifle.

It felt weird for Linda to smile being greeted by Fredrick. "Good to see you're still alive. How've you been holding out?"

He shrugged. "We knew it was coming. We didn't know how to do it, but we prepared our best, and the work paid off. Most of our people got off their worlds before the Harvesters hit and have fallen back to Citadel space to provide the other races with assistance. They're spread thin, but they're holding for the time being."

"With that in mind, you yourself don't look like you're doing all that bad," Kaidan started, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe a few divisions back on Earth could help us."

"Kaidan, you were young three years ago, but now you have no excuse. You're a fucking idiot," Fredrick growled. "Maybe it's the fact your brain is cooking from that L2 implant. I'm not sure if you're really as dumb, gullible, and blind as you suggest you are, or if you're trying to be funny, but you're not. All that aside, you shouldn't be surprised a damn bit about any of this, especially after all the doom and gloom the rest of us have been spouting."

"Relax, guys," Garrus interrupted. "We're still on the same team here."

The group of scientists began to file back inside, Linda continued, "So where've you been for the last few months? Heard you were under house arrest. Or at least that's what we heard last time she tried to call you."

"I... what'd she have to say?" Fredrick asked hesitantly. He hadn't spent as much time with her recently as he did when they first met, but he still considered her to be a friend.

"Said she and Kaidan graduated as Specter. Even said you were rather pivotal during her graduation speech," Shepard explained.

Now he felt a lingering sense of guilt. "Huh. I was in a cryopod at maximum security. From four days past my arrest to mere minutes before the Harvesters hit us, I was asleep the whole time."

"What exactly is the Terrans' plans now that the Reapers have arrived?" Linda was hoping that maybe the Terrans had an alternative.

"I know you're looking for hope, but there's no use sugar-coating the matter. We're all banking on the Crucible to save us. We may have upgraded our arsenal to go toe-to-toe with the Harvesters, but they still outnumber us many times over."

"We can discuss later. What's the plan right now, Lobo?" Vega interrupted.

The name still meant 'wolf', but the use in a different language caused him to pause before responding. "Right now, there are still a couple of groups we have to rescue, and nobody's leaving until we have a number of anti-air batteries disabled. I'll be heading back out with my squad to get them to safety, but when I come back, we're all depending on you to have those AA batteries down. Hell, I'm not sure the _Normandy_ or any shuttle can get in and out safely with the range those things have."

"Where will you be?"

"Picking up a couple more groups of survivors. Then we'll finally be leaving. I'll radio the men to help provide you cover fire on the way there and provide you the explosives you'll need to cripple them. Anything else you'll need?"

"I think that'll be it."

"Good. I'll be updating the maps on your omnitools with the locations of the AA guns. You'll know them when you see them," Fredrick said, tapping at his omnitool. "And Shepard? Be careful out there. I regret not telling you guys tales of the Draconian horrors I've encountered in my younger years, but you'll know them well enough in due time."

As Shepard and the others left, he quickly regrouped with a fresh platoon in the square as they finished reloading and checking for enemy survivors. "Alright, listen up. The day's not done just yet. Commander Shepard of the Alliance Navy will be helping get things done a bit faster, but we still have our part to play. They'll be going after the AA guns to open our window while we fetch the last groups of people. Any questions?" A dull silence passed between the exhausted soldiers before Fredrick continued, "Good. Let's go."

Disappearing once more into the jungle of destroyed civilization, Fredrick passed by many painful sights he remembered from early in his career, now reduced to dust and ashes. In between scenes were a plethora of husks as they fought, and the constant worry of getting pounced on at every turn. Fredrick himself felt more and more distracted with each abomination he killed. He knew where he was going, and he knew he was on the right path, but the current state of being felt hazy, almost like dreams and reality decided to draw straws on which would be more confusing for the day. What was going on? Maybe he was feeling tired, with the fighting finally taking a physical toll. "Sir, what are your orders?"

Snapping back, he looked at a skyscraper, not noticing that he'd stood there at the foot of the structure for almost a minute now. "Do we still have a fix on that signal?"

"Yes sir. Last checked, the other group is still alive too."

"Squad Alpha follows me inside, Squad Beta will head to the other signal and regroup with us here. Get to work," he barked before rushing up to the front lobby. He tried to keep himself calm, as the lobby did resemble the lobby of the burning city he would find so many times in his slumber. The squad filed up the stairs before exiting onto a ruined lab. "Start looking, and keep quiet. Take them down quietly if you have to." Crouch-walking around the corners, peaking to make sure he remained undetected, Fredrick and one other soldier would pull some of the corrupted out of sight before disabling them. In what used to be a cooler room, the team found three lab workers with little protection and no weapons. "Are you alright? Have you been hurt?"

With his ocular implants back online, he quickly checked for infection, only for the trio to come up clean. "No. We've been cooped up in here for days! What's happening out there?"

"A war we ourselves are even barely prepared to fight. Gather them up, we don't have much time." Stepping back out of the cooler and across the area when some winged carrier clung to what was left of the windows and deployed a number of husks and corrupted Turians. "Squad Beta, we've been compromised. What's your status?" he requested calmly over the sound of gunfire.

 _We're facing opposition ourselves, colonel. We're returning to the rendezvous point, over,_ the sergeant answered.

He threw a shockwave out the window, causing the carrier to stumble and the corrupted to scatter. "Good. Try to hurry, we're facing heavily armed hostiles. We'll have to move fast before any more are drawn to our activity." Fredrick followed the others out the door they entered, running like hell down the stairs. Holding a grenade, he tossed one up at the pursuers to keep a reasonable distance. Running out the lobby, the squad reunited with the other soldiers and the civilians that followed. With no time for discussion, the team ran down the street, careful to gun down the corrupted as they went.

Fredrick and his platoon was aggressively escorting a group of civilians and scientists, keeping them safe from a seemingly endless wave of Harvesters forces. He'd for the moment run out of ammunition in his current clip, and had completely reverted to an adrenaline rush to face off against the surrounding hostiles. Initially using the rifle as a club, he smashed the head in of an infector, smacked aside a cannibal, and tore to pieces a corrupted Turian before having the rifle knocked out of his hands. Extending nanite blades from his wrists, he continued to hack and slash his way through the crowd, occasionally throwing a biotic attack. In the distance, he temporarily turned to see a large explosion in the distance. _M_ _ü_ _ller! We've disabled the AA guns. I'm calling in the_ Normandy _. Do you need help?_

"No, we're fine. We're under fire, but we can still make it to extraction. Give the coordinates for your location, we'll be there in fifteen. See you at the LZ." Quickly running back to his rifle, he picked it up and swapped out the battery. "Our window just opened. We're getting out of here, gents."

* * *

 **17 hrs/34 min/26 sec**

 **Departing Khonsu, en route to the SSV _Normandy_**

Fredrick looked out the window watching the remaining Terran dreadnoughts and Khonsu disappear in the distance, followed by the view of wreckage from both sides. He hated to see his home left in such a ruinous state, but knew that everyone else aboard that shuttle with him had felt the same sensation to some extent. Knowing those civilians now being deposited on the Terran ships were now safe for the time being did bring him some tranquility. _From dust to dust,_ he thought, seeing the now grayed blotches that represented flattened cities on the planet surface. He still knew once upon a time Khonsu was just a desolate rock until the original colonists arrived back in the year 2021. Turning to the Hispanic soldier with a mohawk, Fredrick patted the man on the shoulder. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced yet. You are...?"

Looking up at the medic, he answered, "I'm James Vega. You must be the Lobo everyone keeps talking smack about. I just happened to be along when the Reapers hit Earth."

"The group is a funny bunch. You'll know about us soon enough," Kaidan explained.

"We're a bit of a dysfunctional... family of sorts, but we get along well enough," Garrus added.

Fredrick chuckled before turning to Shepard. "So when does Ashe get out of the hospital?" Fredrick was shocked, but took the news relatively well when he heard Ashley took a beating from a Cerberus android on Mars.

"She'll be back in action soon enough. I just wish I had gotten to her sooner." Linda remembered just how brutalized the new Specter was when they pulled her armor off back on the _Normandy_. She was comatose when they finally brought her to the Citadel.

"Speaking of which," Kaidan started, eyeing the older soldier. "Are you and Ashe dating or anything?"

"Wait, what?" Garrus asked.

"No, were just friends! We haven't been together much for the better of three years, and even then, we'd only get together for friendly talks!" Fredrick hadn't really thought of Ashley as more than a fellow marine. Over the course of the hunt for the infected Saren, they had a good time being around each other, but he thought such a relationship would be plausible.

"Relax, Lobo," James laughed, jabbing at his shoulder. "I can walk you through it if you need help."

Looking out the window one more time, the group could tell they had almost arrived at the _Normandy_. Fredrick huffed as he picked up his footlocker. "Okay. That's it. I'm putting my stuff into place, washing off, drinking, and hitting the sack. I've had my bit of fun for the day."


	4. Chapter 4: When Diplomacy Fails

Chapter 4: When Diplomacy Fails

 _At our current pace, we're destined for extinction. Everyone is caught up in their on fight at home, and only a few are willing to put differences aside for the sake of everyone's survival. I get that beating people over the head with my own demands for how victory will be achieved is a generally bad idea, but I don't see any way around this._

* * *

 **May 04, 2186**

 **07 hrs/08 min/11 sec**

 **SSV _Normandy_ medbay, en route to the Annos Basin**

His eyes shot open before slowly pushing himself up with a bellowing groan. The room seemed too bright and every moment in his body caused an aching jolt. Had he been drinking? He looked around to find himself in one of the medical beds aboard the _Normandy_ with his footlocker and a small laptop next to him. Additionally, the coloring and machinery were different, now that the ship had been renovated to be reintegrated with the Alliance fleet.

What was a more pressing concern was his inability to remember the prior fifty hours that took place between when he returned to the SR2 and when he woke up that morning. Did he black out? He looked out the medbay window to see Jack, the biotic convict from before, up bright and early with some of her students. Unlike how she was previously, she now had a small ponytail and wore a jacket on her otherwise bare top. Students? When did she start running her own class? He noticed one of the kids yank a glass from across the mess hall into their grasp. That'd make sense, if Jack took to teaching kids after the Collectors.

Standing up from the bed, he shut his eyes pulled his arms back in an extended stretch. "Morning, colonel. I trust you had a good night's rest?" Opening his eyes back open, he could see Dr. Chakwas looking up from her desk across the room. His biometric scanners finally came online, confirming the doctor's identity as well as providing rudimentary analysis of her biometrics.

Fredrick rubbed his eyes and walked to his footlocker as he replied, "Fine, thanks." Maybe he'd start feeling better after he's had a couple cups of coffee. After slipping on his armor with the exception of his helmet, he walked out and quickly snagged a cup from the kitchen.

"Jeeze, doc. You look like shit," Kaidan commented, putting his dishes in the sink as some private got to work.

"Just a rough night," Fredrick replied as he walked to the coffee machine. "What's our next mission again?"

Kaidan simply raised an eyebrow, maintaining an unamused look. "We're heading to Sur'Kesh for the war summit. I distinctly remember talking about this with you during debriefing."

Taking a long chug, the Terran replied, "Shut up. I'm old and senile."

"Back in my cycle, the elderly weren't allowed to remain within the military." Fredrick gave a sharp glance behind him at a four-eyed bipedal insectoid. It wore red armor with golden trim and had a head that resembled that of a Collector's. Javik, that's what he called himself. From the biometrics, he could tell the man was a Prothean without a doubt. Some time after Shepard had left Earth, she was sent to Eden Prime to pick up a package from another archeological site. Returning to the _Normandy_ , the package turned out to be a stasis pod with the sole survivor of the Prothean Empire.

Fredrick simply growled with hostility. Of all the things he had to remember within the last two days, _Javik the asinine Prothean_ just had to be the one thing he could actually remember. "How about you stop moaning about your extinct race for at least twelve consecutive hours? Because whatever the hell you think you're, you're not helping."

Kaidan was in concordance for once. "Look, I know you two just met, but hear me out on this Javik. Don't piss him off."

"I'm fine without your advice, primitive," Javik spat. "You-"

Barely telegraphing the move, Fredrick swung a punch at the Prothean, knocking the ancient being to the ground. "Listen, asshole. You're lucky you haven't been distilled into a nameless synthetic soup or turned into a Collector prototype millennia ago. Until this war is over, you're just another grunt like the rest of us. Now get off your high horse, because friendly fire is not my concern." Fredrick never looked forward to the possibility of ever finding a live Prothean, and he sure didn't expect the possibility that the current sole survivor of the Harvesters' onslaught would've been as arrogant as he was. Huffing, he turned and walked to get another cup of coffee.

After the second encounter since Shepard's death, Kaidan was quick to remember why so many feared the Terran. "You'd really consider shooting Javik?"

"Unless he's got something a little more significant to say, I'd as well shoot him, preserve him, and stick his carcass in a museum. Speaking of ancient ruins, how's... Liara been doing as of late?" Fredrick would need to check in with Terran medical staff back on the Citadel next time he visited, check what the virus had been changing so far, as the details presented to him were sketchy at most.

"She's... you haven't heard yet, right?"

"Shame."

Kaidan reverted to a harsh whisper. "No, I mean that right after you'd been arrested, she called Shepard and the crew of the SR2 at the time to help her take down the Shadow Broker. Needless to say, she's filled in the power vacuum. She was going to represent the Asari at the summit, but they ordered her to keep out of it, saying there's too much bad blood with the Krogan."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it's a mess. Anyways, I'll have to hand it to you for what you did in the Viper Nebula. With such wide-spread panic, we the crew of the _Normandy_ became much more important to better grasping the situation. Files that were initially secured after Shepard's death were brought out, the Alliance went from acknowledging the Reapers' existence to initiating manufacturing and training for the war in a matter of two weeks, and all of us somehow found a niche place. Look, I shouldn't have given you flak when we met back on Khonsu. You deserved better than that."

Fredrick sat silently for a few seconds longer as he contemplated what Kaidan just told him. "I... didn't expect to hear that. Thanks." Now he just felt lost. Sure, he had countless episodes of fluctuating emotions, but now it had boiled over the point he didn't know himself how he felt. "It's... I-I don't know any more."

* * *

 **10 hrs/48 sec/29 min**

 **Diplomatic Vessel, Pranas System, Annos Basin**

"The Krogan are, in no way, in any sort of position to make demands!" Dalatress Linron, as the currently elected leader of the Salarian Union, was yelling the moment Fredrick and Linda entered the room. The leaders of the Turians, Salarians, and Krogan, former-General Adrien Victus, the Dalatress, and Urdnot Wrex respectively, had come together to discuss how to support the other factions in coordinating defense and resources going towards the construction of the Crucible. They hadn't been on the ship for more than five minutes, and the trio had already resorted to expletives and yelling.

"The _Krogan_ have a name: Urdnot Wrex. We aren't a pack of attack-Varren trained to help you out when you're in trouble!" Wrex growled back as the respective representatives for the Systems Alliance and Terran Republic calmly entered. "Besides, I've got my own problems. Reaper scouts just landed on Tuchanka, so why should I care if the Turian population is cut down to a quarter of its original size?"

Fredrick paused to look back at a Krogan guard near the door. "Excuse me, would you be so kind as to bring me three chairs?"

He couldn't help but feel sorry for the newly deemed Primarch Victus, being a soldier forced to wade through politics. "Trying to draw out negotiations will get you nowhere, Wrex. We don't have time to dance around the question, so why don't you just tell us what you want?" the Primarch groaned.

"I'll tell you what we _need_. A cure for the Genophage." Wrex went to a near whisper at the utter of the five words.

Fire sparked in the Dalatress' eyes. "Absolutely not! The Genophage is non-negotiable! We Salarians lifted them up, and we know what will happen if we let it happen again!"

"Corrected: you used us to fight a war you couldn't win!" Wrex yelled. "It wasn't the Asari, the Turians, or the Salarians who won the Rachni Wars! That conflict was payed in full with Krogan blood!"

"And then you ceased to be useful!" the Dalatress returned. "The Genophage was the only way to keep the Krogan in check!"

A deadly silence passed before Victus stepped in. "Dalatress, you may not like Wrex, but he is correct. Throwing insults at his race will not achieve anything."

"I will not apologize for quoting the truth! We uplifted them to wage war! That's all they understand!" Dalatress continued. In the mean time, Fredrick accepted the chairs from the Krogan guard, before sitting on one, while leaving the other two at his side.

"With that in mind, perhaps it would've been wiser to better think through the situation," Shepard commented, rolling her eyes. "It shouldn't have come as any surprise when the Krogan revolted."

"That is my point, commander. We made a rash decision and turned to the Krogan for help. It's the same mistake you'll make today..." The Dalatress and everyone else with the exception of Fredrick had their attention drawn to the floating chair by the discussion table.

Müller simply sat in his chair, twiddling his thumbs while he lifted the chair subtlety with his biotics. Closing his eyes, he sharply inhaled before the chair suddenly imploded into a ball no bigger than a clenched fist before being violently hurled at the ceiling, imbedded in the panels above. Fredrick leaned forward in his seat before inquiring, "Excuse the violent interruption, Dalatress, but my various systems have been experiencing some malfunctions since the beginning of the war. My ears cut out, and I only just began to hear the conversation again. Could someone please remind me what the issue is here?"

Victus gulped as he answered. "If the Hierarchy is to help Earth with its effort towards constructing the Crucible, I need to at least know that Palaven is safe. I require that the Krogan at least provide ground support, Wrex however requires that the Genophage be cured before he can provide any relief. Unfortunately, Dalatress Linron stands against the decision as she feels-"

Another chair was crushed and flew mere centimeters past the Dalatress' face before cratering in the wall. Now at full height, Fredrick continued his verbal barrage. "Dalatress, I believe that you, as a representative of the Salarian Union have made a grave error in fully assessing our collective situation in this current state. We all face extinction, the Krogan wish to offer their support to prevent that, and yet here you are, kicking and screaming like a child through the mud, and generally preventing them from providing that essential support."

"You wouldn't understand, Colonel Müller! Your race wasn't even off your home planet by the time the Krogan Rebellions began! Y-" The Dalatress was once again interrupted when her face was brought sharply down on the table, causing her to stumble and fall.

By now, a green aura hovered above Fredrick's armored body. "I've been in this war _longer_ than you've been _alive_ , Dalatress! Don't you fucking undermine _my_ stance on this situation and how _I_ say we can win this war! And don't you lie to me when I say this war will cost the Krogan their existence if the Genophage is treated during, or immediately after the war! I've seen the statistics myself, and the Genophage has only been successful because there hasn't been a conflict until now that is physically threatening the stability of their population! _You_ oversee the data collected by the STG, _you_ tell me if that isn't true!"

"Enough!" Victus injected. "Whether or not they deserve a cure is academic. Realistically, it would take years to develop it."

"My information says otherwise. After being moved off my planet, the Terran Republic provided resources and shelter to a former STG and allowed him to continue his research into finding a treatment. He grew a conscience and had been testing on our females. Since then, the Terrans have been informing me that the methods they continue with have been significantly more 'humane'," Wrex countered, initiating the projection on the wall, showing what Fredrick remembered to the bombed out hospital he and Mordin visited. Suddenly, the image shown changed to a more refined lab with Krogan females in cells and distinct Salarian architecture. "Recently, I received intel that other females survived the trials on Tuchanka and are currently being held on Sur'Kesh."

"W-where did you get this? It could be a fabrication!" the Dalatress accused.

"Your vitals state otherwise, Dalatress," Fredrick hissed, like a coiled cobra. "Don't hold something back that you'll invariably regret."

"Dalatress, is this true?" Now that Victus had a second opinion, he was becoming suspicious and exponentially more desperate.

Linron hesitated before continuing. "How will curing the Genophage help _my_ people?"

"You think the Salarian can survive on their own against the Reapers?" Shepard asked. "Because nothing of the Salarian Union will remain if you keep up the current attitude."

"Fine! The females are being kept at one of the STG bases on Sur'Kesh. But I warn you, commander! The consequences of this will be fe-" The third and final chair struck the Dalatress, though not with the same intensity as the first two.

"Your usefulness is dwindling, Dalatress. I suggest that you start to contribute more," Fredrick threatened as he and Shepard left the room. "We'll be going. We don't have the luxury of waiting."

Wrex quickly followed the two out of the room. "My inside informant also gave the coordinates to the facility. Anyways, you feeling alright Fredrick? You seem a bit on edge."

"Fine for the time being." No need to spread worries around.

"I won't forget this, Shepard! A bully has few friends when they need them most!" the Salarian leader screeched as they left.

* * *

 **13 hrs/36 min/31 sec**

 **Sur'Kesh, Pranas System, Annos Basin**

Of all the homeworlds, Sur'Kesh had so far been the least affected. Fredrick sat calmly in the copilot seat, looking down at the helmet in his lap, while Javik stood next to him, glancing over the pilot's shoulder. Looking at the map monitor, they entered the five-minute radius, prompting him to put on the helmet and walk back to the passenger hold. Shepard and Wrex were continuing to discuss the approach to ground-side. "These females are the best – if not last – hope we have," Wrex sighed, holstering his shotgun.

"We'll walk them out of hell, Wrex. We always do," Fredrick assured.

The elder Krogan looked back with a smile. "You're insane, Müller. But you've been a loyal friend. I can still respect that. Same goes for you, Garrus. I'll always treasure the support you guys give today."

Wrex extended a hand to the Turian, to which Garrus gladly accepted. "I figured you'd gone soft, sitting on that throne of yours, forgotten how to hold a gun," he joked.

Javik finally came up from the pilot's cabin. "Are you still expecting trouble?"

The Prothean had been on the shuttle for some time before Wrex entered. "Uuuuuuhh, who's he? Hell, what is he anyway?"

"Prothean. The last as far as we can tell. We pulled him out of Eden Prime," Linda summarized.

Wrex chuckled lightly. "I see the _Normandy_ still walks that fine line between a warship and a traveling circus. Sometimes, I wish I could go back to it. Then I'm reminded why I'm still chained to my throne."

"Ma'am, I have the STG base within sensory range," the pilot informed.

"Set us down, we'll make this quick," Shepard ordered.

Fredrick looked out the window over the Sur'Kesh wilderness. Put beside the almost Aztec architecture of the Salarians, it reminded him much of the images of Earth he was presented during his childhood. Their velocity rapidly declined as they hung over the landing pad near the top of the facility. "Uh, commander? The ground control is saying we don't have clearance to land."

"Shit! I knew they wouldn't keep their word! Let's see how they handle an unauthorized Krogan landing!" Wrex barked before yanking on the door release.

Fredrick quickly jumped after the Krogan. "Hey! Wrex! Easy, we can still play this off, they won't suspect a thing!" He was already too late as the Krogan tossed two Salarian guards off their feet before being finally forced to stand down by snipers with laser sights. "Wrex, even if the Dalatress didn't keep her word, I could still have helped lie our asses through instead of slamming the fucking door," he grumbled further as he tossed up a biotic barrier.

"Stand down! Hold your fire!" As more STG troops approached, a commanding officer raced to catch up and order his troops. "Commander Shepard, restrain your colleague! We didn't know about the transfer until seconds ago!"

Pulling down the barrier, Fredrick continued, "See? Clerical error. We can play along, so long as it means avoiding a diplomatic incident."

"As would I. However, I must ask that he remain under guard for the facility's security," the commander continued.

"Fine," Linda shrugged. "We'll take care of the captive females. Wrex, stay with the shuttle and cover our retreat in case shit hits the fan. Got it?"

The local Salarian officer introduced himself as he guided them through the docking area. "I'm Padik Wiks, and I appreciate your understanding, commander. With the war, everyone's been on edge."

Fredrick observed in the distance a group of STG transporting what he could distinctly tell was a Yahg in a heavy containment cell. "You Salarians are literally insane if you're trying to raise another ape-like species. Don't you guys remember what happened the last time you tried that?"

"We know," Garrus mentioned. "We had fun with Liara fighting these. It barely went well."

"This facility and its research has kept Sur'Kesh safe for generations," Wiks claimed.

"Does that include studying lost Krogan?" Shepard inquired, voice laden with suspicion.

Ignoring the angry growl Wrex produced as he was escorted by a squad of STG, Wiks replied, "They were in poor help when we found them. We've helped to stabilize their condition."

"We'd like to see them."

"Of course. I'll do my best to get word throughout the facility you'll be coming through and get you the necessary clearance." Leaving them for the time being, the group decided to talk further with Wrex about the current situation on Tuchanka. It became quickly apparent that Wrex, perhaps one of the most courageous people Fredrick had ever known, was feeling the same fearful vibe that the other leaders were back during the brief summit. Keeping the fertile females safe, butting heads with the Salarians, and the arrival of the Harvesters on his homeworld. Wrex needed all the hope he could get after the day's mission. The two groups departed after further jabbing at the Salarian guards.

"Colonel Müller, I heard Shepard was coming, but I didn't expect to see you along." The Terran turned to face none other than the now Major Kirrahe.

"Major. You seem to be making your way up in this Galaxy. 'Hold the line,' right?" Fredrick quipped, noting the new rank on the Salarian's breastplate.

"A day I won't forget. I'm just glad we all made it out alive."

Naturally, Javik had to be the pessimist. "It's a pointless venture to constantly count your men."

Similarly, Kirrahe had never seen a Prothean before. "Who's your squadmate?"

"Prothean. Don't mind him. He's an ass. I can give you the genetic scannings later if you want," Fredrick groaned. "But yes, Virmire. It's almost like we can still physically feel the fallout from that nuclear device, raining down around us."

"Ironic, no? We destroyed the Genophage cure then, now here you are racing to treat the Genophage now for the sake of alliance. I wish I could help you, but since we pulled the Krogan females off of Tuchanka, I have my orders. Tight security has always been a priority in STG infrastructure."

"That's the plan," Linda added, walking into the conversation. "We're working on a superweapon to fight the Reapers with. Getting the Krogan to cooperate to subsequently get the Turians' help all feeds into the effort against those bastards. Anyways, I'd love to chat more, Kirrahe, but we've got to get moving."

Wiks quickly approached them to confirm their clearance. With a datapad in his hand, he quickly scanned Shepard before continuing, "Aaaaaaaand done. You should be able to get past all the scanners down below. I hope the best for you and that this whole fiasco can be brought to a close. I don't agree the Krogan should be kept the way they are, stuck in indefinite nuclear war."

I the distance, various flocks of birds flew overhead, followed by the distinct sound of klaxon ringing all over the base. As gunships rose from their platforms to scour the perimeter, a facility intercom announced, _"Attention all personnel. Scanners have picked up activity within the facility perimeter. Until the validity of the threat is confirmed, all personnel are to remain alert and begin locking down specimen. Dedicated personnel are to head to defensive positions until the alarm has been dropped."_

Wiks drew his weapon as the elevator doors opened for the team. "You better go commander. Someone will meet you below."

Quietly, Fredrick slipped his pistol out and turned off the safety. The alarm that rang throughout the base made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, making him think back to the ruined labs back on Khonsu. The elevator doors opened up to reveal the various personnel rushing through the labs. Noting two Salarians reporting to a doctor near the immediate left of the elevator, two left to reveal the authoritative figure of the level. "Shepard! Excellent timing! Good to have you here," Mordin greeted, shaking Shepard's hand. "Can understand any surprise. Surprised myself I went straight back to work."

"You're the advisor here?" Garrus asked.

"Of course. Had to be me. Someone else might've gotten it wrong." Mordin glanced around before putting his head closer. "Helped Krogan females. Informed Clan Urdnot. Encouraged political pressure to free females."

Fredrick grinned under his helmet. "Good job."

"Thanks. I took notes," Mordin replied.

"Someone else might've gotten it wrong," Fredrick joked. "So you having a change of heart about the Genophage?"

"No time to explain. Alerts not normal. Need to get off world for the sake of Krogan people," the elder STG agent rushed along with the four of them close behind. "Unfortunately, females immune system weakened as side effect of Maelon's research. Most died." Almost emphasizing the words, the group passed by a morgue with three covered Krogan.

"Fredrick provided Maelon shelter to continue his research. It's been slow, but it's been gradually improving," Linda shared. "Right now, he's with the Terran researchers we've evacuated from Khonsu. You can communicate with him to finish the project once we leave."

"Good. Only one survivor. Immune to Genophage. Can with remaining research synthesize cure from her tissue. Must survive. If she dies, cure could be – problematic." The group walked down another set of steps to a Krogan locked in a decontaminated chamber. "Careful. Slow to trust."

"Right. I'm Commander Shepard of the Alliance Navy," Linda greeted.

Brief silence ensued. "Are you here to kill me?"

Fredrick looked over her body, eyes scanning the various injuries she had incurred. "Resilient. I'm surprised she survived what many couldn't. But survival aside, we're with Urdnot Wrex, and we're taking you home. We aren't your enemy."

"...I see... Those were my sisters you saw back there. They died in incredible pain, leaving me the sole survivor. That makes me dangerous." The female Krogan was wearing an ornate headdress that covered most of her body.

"The Dalatress' opinion doesn't matter anymore. Much hangs in the balance based upon your survival. The future of the Krogan race, the tide of this war, it would harm the rest of us more by killing you," Linda attempted to appeal.

Explosions rocked the facility above as more alarms went off. _"Alert, unidentified hostiles have broken through the perimeter. All personnel to battle stations. This is not a drill, repeat this is not a drill."_

"Then I hope you brought an army, Commander Shepard," the Krogan retorted, calm like a winter wind.

"We brought a war machine. Your safety should be ensured," Javik confirmed, earning a glare from Müller.

Approaching a security terminal, Shepard hastily asked, "What's going on up there?"

"Unknown. All external communications have been cut off," the lone soldier answered.

"We're running out of time," Garrus interrupted. "We've got to get that female out of there now!"

"I can't! Quarantine protocol clearly states-"

Not another word was uttered by the Salarian soldier as both Mordin and Fredrick trained their sidearms on the back of the soldier's head. "Objection understood. Open the elevator seals. Will handle from here."

The Krogan's containment unit was moved onto a service elevator, with a small security booth to the side for Mordin to enter. "Can manage quarantine measures from here. Will see you topside, Shepard."

Fredrick in the meantime rushed to hail the elevator. As the elevator car reached the bottom of the shaft, the doors opened to show a single bomb, with a beeping detonator. "Oh, shit." Nanites wrapped around his body protecting him from the various fragments showered on them. Still stumbling, the nanites retracted as Fredrick asked desperately, "I suppose there's a second elevator?"

* * *

 **14 hrs/11 hrs/55 sec**

After exiting onto the lower platforms, the group were greeted by the sight of STG forces struggling against the onslaught of Cerberus troops. Landing on the platform where they were, a number of Cerberus troops in full armor initiated their attack. Immediately setting upon them, Fredrick was quick to gun down two, toss the third against a wall with a sickening crack, before avoiding the blade of the fourth. Turning the blade against them, Fredrick ripped the helmet straight off their head revealing the ugly deformation underneath. Expecting a _Human_ soldier, what Fredrick found instead was a dull chrome skull, with mere tendrils supporting the jaw. The eyes didn't resemble the dead marbles of husks, and looked to be infused with the thin, exterior membrane like the Collectors.

With a spinning hook kick, he took the head clean off in a colorful spew of surprisingly red blood. The mutations – if it even could be called that – looked alien, and almost reminded him directly of the Collectors. "I see Cerberus has done some remodeling. What happened?"

"Couldn't say," Garrus shrugged. "After we 'left' Cerberus, Miranda and Jacob went on to unify what was left of the Lazarus cell and various other fragmented cell to form the Humanity Colonial Defense Front, or HCDF. They're composed of Cerberus hand-me-downs and have a focus on simple defense as opposed to domination and pseudo-science."

 _"All squads be advised. We're encountering resistance from non-Salarian hostiles. Excercise extreme caution."_ It was a Cerberus soldier, but something felt different about the voice. It sounded synthetic.

 **"Your defeat of the Collectors was merely a minor setback. Besides, Humans may not be the most resilient platform, but they do leave plenty of room to improve on."** Combat became a haze again. He could still what was happening, but it constantly shifted between going too fast and moving too slowly. He still handled the soldiers with relative ease, but it was just another dream sequence. Time seemed to revert back to normality when he found himself at the security terminal for the elevator.

With Linda manning the controls, he asked, "Mordin, are you alright?"

"Containment shield holding. Will try to repair if necessary. Krogan still stable. Females kept secret. Possible mole in STG, indoctrinated. Meet us at next checkpoint." Mordin and the elevator were suddenly attacked from behind by a shuttle with two more Cerberus soldiers shooting from the side. As the elevator slid away, Fredrick tossed a cooked grenade onboard, tossing the soldiers from the cabin.

 _"All units, we've found the Krogan. Sending coordinates."_

Just beyond the next door, another shuttle deployed yet another squad of Cerberus soldiers. "Shepard, how many encounters have you had with Cerberus this year?" Fredrick growled as he shot the shuttle's thruster, sending it spinning out of control.

"Too many," Javik answered. "They were a nuisance the first time."

"They take after their de facto leader." Continuing to take point, the team noticed one of the Cerberus soldiers set down a metallic platform. From it sprouted a bipod, and extended parts before establishing itself as an automated turret. With another squad on the way, Fredrick started to fire upon the turret when he noticed the combat engineer who deployed it was constantly repairing it with his omnitool. God, these guys were annoying. Jumping out and igniting his nanite shield, the soldiers weren't capable of handling the Terran soldier without being swiftly torn apart. Focusing on the engineers and kicking apart the turrets, he taunted, "If you stopped turtling for five minutes, you might actually accomplish something!"

Linda and the others seemed fine for the most part, getting out from cover and initiating the scan for the next door. "Mordin was right, the STG has a mole. They got here all too quickly," Garrus muttered.

"Well, that aside, it seems like you guys are doing alright. You don't seem to be getting shot up nearly as frequently as you were the first time we all met. Sure you guys still need me?" Fredrick commented, eyeing Garrus and Linda's vitals.

"Are you sure you're not an assault trooper?" Javik asked. "Due to your combat style preference and arsenal, both integral to your body and carried as a part of your loadout, you more greatly resemble the juggernaut class of soldiers from my cycle."

"That's... a fair point."

* * *

 **14 hrs/26 min/03 sec**

"Appears safe. Need final approval, Shepard! Pod will move to loading area!" At the platform they started at, Mordin was on the lift, ready to deploy the pod with the Krogan female inside. A crane on the platform cautiously lifted up the pod over the pavilion. The pod was damaged, but still holding.

 _"Heads up down there! Something's coming! Get ready!"_ Wrex alerted over the coms. From the sky, a giant, heavily reinforced mech with Cerberus colors landed. It was bulky in the torso, the arms were equipped with a heavy claw and grenade launcher, and the pod-like cockpit held a single Cerberus soldier. Firing the launcher, it damaged the elevator, preventing Mordin from leaving while forcing the others to cover. _"Shepard, you've got to destroy that thing before we can land! It's too risky!"_

Garrus popped up from cover and fired a few rounds at the cockpit, watching as the rounds bounced off of a barrier. Narrowly ducking as a grenade flew past where his head was, Garrus cursed, "Dammit! Müller, think there's anything you can do against that thing?!"

"Get the shields down! I'm thinking of trying something a bit ballsy," Fredrick replied, swapping batteries.

Careful to still keep his distance, the Terran continued to flank the heavy mech while the others provided concentrated fire. Occasionally, he himself would provide additional fire to wear down the shields. Watching as the shields finally dissipated, he rolled from cover and jumped in front of the vehicle. Initially looking like a suicidal maneuver, the mech reached out to crush him with its claw. Swiftly countering, he jumped on top of the arm, before using the armament as a platform to leap into the air. Activating his nanite barrier once more, he jumped into a diving position, before driving himself downward with his biotics, piercing the windshield and driver like a spear. Climbing back out, his armor was now coated with red, presumably synthetic blood, and what could barely be described as Human tissue.

 _"Fred, with the combat proficiency you just showed and the devotion you've been displaying down there, when we get back to the_ Normandy _, I will buy you a drink and you will tell me you're really a Krogan under all of that,"_ Wrex mumbled with awe.

"I'll have to disappoint you with the latter," Fredrick replied, pulling open Mordin's door.

 _"Well, it looks clear now. I'm coming in with the shuttle."_ The blue shuttle they arrived on hovered over the ground as Wrex jumped down to greet them. "You guys had me worried. But then I remembered Fredrick was here."

"Containment field deactivate. Good to go," Mordin informed. The blue hue of the metal box faded as Wrex stepped forward to greet her.

The Krogan woman was roughly the same height as Wrex and looked roughly as bulky, even with the armor on. More Cerberus troops rappelled down the wall face near the opposite side of the area. They quickly ran forward to meet them before the woman grabbed Wrex's shotgun, and fired off three rounds, killing all three threats. "I can handle myself, thank you very much, Wrex."

Kneeling down by one of the soldiers, Fredrick noticed one of the omnitool's on the Cerberus troops were still active. Pulling out his own omnitool, he quickly snagged the frequency the soldiers were using. "Hello Harper. I was just doing some errands when I encountered some of your subordinates. They reminded me of you, so I decided to give you a call." A dead silence whispered back to him. "I know you can hear me Harper."

 _I'm surprised to see you're out of cryo so soon. I hadn't noticed any communications referring to such an event,_ Jack's voice replied. He could even hear the draw of his breath as he inhaled the smoke from his cigarette.

"Just what is it you hope to accomplish siding with the Harvesters? It's pretty clear that's what you've done, by the looks of some of your soldiers here. Now, perhaps you could better explain yourself? Even Shepard doesn't know all the mechanizations occurring within your organization just yet." His voice was topped with a subtle piece of aggression.

 _Don't misjudge me. You've clearly drilled it into your head by now, so I won't attempt to convince you that what I'm doing is the right way forward,_ Harper chastised. _Unlike you, I still see utility in the Reapers. I see potential to control them, and to use them to secure Humanity's place even after the war has ended._

He tried to maintain his hatred, but laughter and critique seeped in. "Control? _Control_ and _secure_?! You fucking madman. You have, by far, underestimated their strength, my old friend!" Fredrick laughed.

Harper would have none of it. _I've got my people working around the clock, and we're almost at a breakthrough. Don't expect me to offer a second chance, M_ _ü_ _ller-_

"Harper, you're the personification of the one joke people find funny, but people retold it to the point where it loses any sort of humor value it once had. I don't understand how you can be so smart and so stupid, but that doesn't matter anymore. As another victim to be added to the masses of infected we'll have to deal with at some point, I'll gladly be the man to desecrate your corpse. See you soon." Fredrick cut the call and walked to the shuttle on the return trip to the _Normandy_.

* * *

 **16 hrs/42 min/20 sec**

 **Med bay, SSV _Normandy_ , en route to Tuchanka, Aralahk System, Krogan DMZ**

"Fuck. Now we'll have to deal with Shrimp?" Fredrick groaned, checking on the female's vitals. "I thought we told the Rachni on Noveria to indefinitely fuck off!"

Wrex was still reeling with pain from giving a tissue sample, of which trying to worm his way back into his armor didn't help. The former bounty hunter did take some relief that Mordin had left the room to discuss matters with Shepard. "Yeah. You know as well as I do those things are a pain in the ass to fight."

"I do. I was even the member of her squad who suggested that we gas the queen in containment with Omega-06," Fredrick continued. "You should be fine, Eve. All your systems are functional."

The female Krogan's name was unknown, and she refused to talk about it. However, the few medical personnel onboard besides himself took to calling her 'Eve', probably as some excessively on-the-nose Biblical reference. "For the last time, Wolf: I'm fine."

"Sorry, but in our current state of war, it's still my job to make sure that everyone's on top of their game in terms of their health."

"Speaking of health, I had heard on ANN from Shepard yourself about your... condition. Is it going to be a problem?" Wrex asked.

"For Christ's sake, I'm not compromised! Yet. I'm confident we'll blow the Harvesters to hell before it becomes a real issue. Until something physically happens on the field, I'm still functional," Fredrick hissed.

Wrex put up his hands in slight defense. "Hey, not to imply anything. Anyways, who were you talking to after the mission? Before we left groundside?"

"Some ass I met in the aftermath of the Turian-Human conflict a few decades back. He was zealous, sought the uplifting of the Human race to become equal to what we as Terrans were, if not better. Unfortunately, it meant stomping every other race out there to achieve that. Fortunately, he's this absurd mix of smart and stupid which will indefinitely prevent him from making any genuine progress, with the sole exception of pissing people off." Harper was a joke in his entirety, but that didn't discount him as something to be ignored. "After defeating the Collectors last year, he made it apparent he sought to control the Harvesters instead of destroying them. Now that he's tried, his brain is burnt out, and he's the Harvesters' new play-thing."

"You almost treat this war like it's a game of politics, don't you?"

"Alright. Maybe the condition _will_ be a problem."


	5. Chapter 5: Trenchfoot

Chapter 5: Trenchfoot

 _Tuchanka may already be a worn down world to the point where there's nothing left to destroy, but the Harvesters somehow managed to grind the dust and sand down further. Makes me wonder what the Turian platoon was doing this far out in Krogan territory. Speaking of which, I'm taking one of these Cerberus corpses back at some point. I need to know what these bastards have turned themselves into. Even then, what happened behind the scenes? How did they suddenly transition from a bunch of terrorists to the Harvesters' replacement for the Collectors in seven months?_

* * *

 _Report._

 _The monitoring has show some substantial changes beyond what I had initially implemented to try and install a control module. His body has started to undergo changes, but not what any of us would've needed._

 _Explain further._

 _His own body repurposed the changes made, and is now improving upon them with his own design. Due to connection incompatibility, attempting at turning him may no longer be an option._

 _And there's nothing you can do about this?_

 _Unfortunately, no. We might be able to track his movements, but it's still hypothetical._

 _Useless. Return to combat. A new assignment has been put under your responsibility. I'll resume focusing on his presence._

* * *

 **May 06, 2186**

 **12 hrs/43 min/40 sec**

 **SSV _Normandy_ Bridge, Tuchanka, Aralahk System, Krogan DMZ**

"Colonel Müller, must ask one last time. Must see your current systems. Need to check if you're ready to return to field," Mordin insisted, following Fredrick the entire length of the bridge.

He simply ignored the Salarian doctor as he put his helmet on. "I already told you, I can check in with the local forces at the Citadel Station about my current condition. They'll have the necessary equipment and expertise to have a better understanding, anyways. So Primarch, your kid is down there?"

Shepard had been patiently talking to Victus on the bridge. The Primarch's son, a Lieutenant Tarquin Victus was leading a scouting party down to the surface of the planet. "Yes, doctor. He was the team leader of a small platoon heading down to the surface. I'm not sure what he was hoping to achieve, but he was shot down by the scouting Reaper forces before he could reach his target. He managed to deploy a distress beacon before landing, but that's it."

"Gear up, doc. We'll be heading in on foot. Unfortunately, due to how the ship crashed in some ruins, and the number of hostiles crawling throughout the area, we'll have to land some distance from the actual crash site," Shepard ordered. "Once the site is secure, Joker will send in a couple more shuttles to help extract the survivors."

"It'll be too late by then. Joker, get onto those coordinates and enter low orbit within trajectory of that crash site. I'm jumping in," Fredrick ordered. "Even if they aren't there, I'll pick up on the scent soon enough. I'll catch up with the rest of you when I can."

"Colonel, this isn't the time to have fun high-diving," Victus hissed.

"It's a low-orbital-drop tactic first devised during the Terran-Batarian War for paratroopers. I hate to boast, but our bodies are capable of holding a biotic barrier for much longer, and our armor is greatly heat resistant if all else fails. It's routine for espionage units to avoid detection for longer," Fredrick explained, before turning to head to the elevator. "Besides, the Harvester want my head on a platter, so it'd be better for the others to move in faster if they simply focussed on me."

The elevator doors closed without another word as he turned the other way in anticipation of the cargo hold. He stretched his arms and stifled a yawn before the absurdly slow elevator finally reached the lower level and granted him entry. He walked by the position of the shuttle pilot Steve, as he watched Vega do pull-ups on some of the repair equipment. Sitting down to check his rifle, James abruptly left to later return in full armor alongside Garrus and Linda. "Joker's coming in for a fly-by. Get ready." Getting up from his seat, Fredrick walked over to the cargo bay doors to watch the environmental barrier form and the door slowly whirl open.

 _"We are thirty seconds out from your drop,"_ Joker informed as an ominous hue of red lit up the exit. Tuchanka's environment wasn't much to look at. It largely looked like various shades of red-brown clay slapped hastily onto a ball, with a clear top layer with white streaks to give the appearance of an 'atmosphere'. The light turned green as Jeff encouraged, _"Give 'em hell, Freddy."_

Fredrick calmly changed into a jogging pace down the lowered door before leaping into the dust below, bringing up his nanite shield. In truth, his armor didn't need the level of protection, and would be fine as is. Initially, the infamous Terran design of armor was meant to double as both combat oriented and exploration oriented. Along with being able to withstand extreme temperatures and holding needed equipment, the design and shields were meant to protect the user in vacuum from stray debris. Naturally, this provided equal protection against against projectiles, plasma, and particle beams to an extent. The only reason he even needed to put up his nanite barrier was to keep the paint relatively intact, as the paint they used for armor wasn't nearly as resilient and would easily burn off under such circumstances like reentry.

After reentry, he disengaged his nanite shield as he continued to dive through the clouds. Finally piercing through the thick clouds, he found himself roughly a hundred meters above the ground, prompting him to flip himself around and surround himself in a biotic field. Down below, he could see an elaborate complex of ancient Krogan ruins, now with a Turian cruiser crash-landed in the middle of it. Not seventy meters out was a small camp of Turian soldiers holding out against a large wave of corrupted. Landing in the trench dug by the ruined vessel, he decelerated to the point he could safely land on a knee before standing back up. Observing the ruined landscape around him, he quickly climbed out of the trench, drew his rifle, and ran in the direction of the remaining survivors.

He could see what remained of numerous trails of boots leading away from the site, following the cluster to the camp that the young Victus' squad had established. Initially, he entered a camp where the dead and wounded were being put at the time of the conflict. "Stay where you are! Identify yourself!" Two anxious Turian medics snapped to their feet and aimed their guns at him.

"Relax. I'm your first wave of reinforcements. Where's your CO?" Fredrick answered, easing the Turian.

"Oh. Him?" The medic went from shock to deep disappointment. "He's at the front, holding position with the others. Where's the rest of _your_ unit anyways?"

"I've learned to work alone. Anyways, get to the frontline, soldier. They'll need you there. I can help tend to the wounded back here, and see to it they're ready for combat and extraction." Fredrick got to work with his nanites, helping a severely bleeding soldier get back to his feet in just short of a minute.

The two medics simply nodded before the left him alone. He quietly worked away at the few who were just injured and hadn't joined the deceased yet. Unfortunately, the simply injured only came to a total of seven, whereas the death-toll had already reached a couple dozen for these poor souls. With the last of the injured ready to return to the fight, Fredrick picked his rifle back up and joined them, keeping low as he approached one of the huddled Turian troops. "Where's the lieutenant? It's critical I speak with him!"

A light-gray plated Turian looked up from down his rifle to see him. His facial markings matched those of the Primarch's, being a series of white stripes flowing along the plates. "Lieutenant Victus peaking. I assume someone got our distress call?"

"Colonel Müller, Terran Marines, I'm with Shepard right now. Any word from her?"

"Yeah. She just radioed not too long ago, said to keep an eye out for you. You're a sight for sore eyes, Wolf."

Fredrick continued to talk as he looked down his rifle sights, popping the skulls off of a few husks. "So what happened here?"

"That's simple, colonel. Our _esteemed_ commanding officer thought it would be an excellent idea to fly through enemy territory to reach our destination!" an unnamed soldier to his left barked, holding the lieutenant's collar.

Victus glared back. "Stand down, soldier!"

"Why? Don't want to be reminded over half our unit is dead because of you?!"

"I said, stand down!"

"Children! Please!" A corrupted Turian, 'Marauder' if he remembered correctly, jumped over their cover, about to open fire with it's own weapon when Fredrick yanked at the barrel, directed the gun upwards to avoid injuring himself, kicked its shin from underneath it, punched it four times across the head to drop the barriers, before taking its head clean off with a well placed hit from the back of his fist, releasing a splash of gray-blackish blood. "We aren't going to get off this rock by playing 'pin the donkey' with whoever fucked up! If you gents were to act like soldiers and actually want to get out of here, you learn to work with the cards you've been given and not with wishes!" Fredrick howled as he peaked from cover to blast away a trio of cannibals as they lurched out from cover.

Victus continued to order his men around as Fredrick put up a biotic barrier around the group at the front to keep them safe from incoming fire. Considering the height advantage they had, so long as he kept the barrier up, fended the group from indirect fire and snipers, and patched up the wounds that would occasionally come up, they would be fine. At the rate at which he was using his biotics, ammo, and nanites in conjunction, he was feeling a bit exhausted a bit faster than usual, even with the most recent models of eezo cores and drivers. With the ability to keep up the pressure much more with Fredrick's assistance, the group held out, even to the point where survivors from escape pods could safely come through once the barrage had finally ceased. "They've stopped. I can't believe it, they've stopped!" one of the other Turian soldiers cried out.

Fredrick slid down against a wall he was taking cover against, with his eyes closed, the biotic barrier dissipating, and deep breaths. This gave him some time to slowly catch up, and the energy flow to slowly stabilize. "The men from the escape pods told me you're with Commander Shepard. Is that right? How'd you guys get word we were down here?" Tarquin asked as he stumbled to his side.

He climbed back to his feet as he faced Tarquin. "I'm here on part that your father, now the new Primarch, said your platoon went missing and wanted us to check it out. He hadn't explicitly told any of us the reason you were here. Is there something of importance the Harvesters have established here on Tuchanka?" Fredrick started.

"We intercepted Cerberus coms a week back. They... well, there's no point in hiding it now that the war is in full swing," the lieutenant sighed with hesitation. "After the end of the Krogan Rebellions, the Turian Hierarchy installed a kiloton bomb on a breeding grounds in case the Krogan got any ideas. Now, Cerberus has gone in to detonate it to at most turn the Krogan on the Turians or at least slow down the process of the Genophage being treated. Our main course was heavily riddled with Reaper forces, so I opted to go for a slower route through these ruins. Unfortunately, there was no room to maneuver in when we did encounter resistance."

"Pffft, yeah. Look where that got us, lieutenant," a particularly snarky subordinate mocked.

Fredrick slugged the soldier across the mandible, what he knew to be a painful place to be hit. "Last time I check, Turians had better hearing than that. In case you didn't hear over the gunfire the first time, we aren't getting anywhere simply pointing fingers at each other, so you best keep that mouth of yours clenched shut, kid. In case you've never taken up a position of command, being a CO requires risk. And sometimes all options on the table will not yield success."

"Colonel, I'd prefer if you didn't brutalize my men. I will take full responsibility of this incident," the lieutenant persisted.

"Can we stop with this meaningless pissing match? Point is, we still have a bomb to defuse. Are there any remaining transports aboard your ship?"

"Sirs! Incoming carrier!" Two persistent species that lived on Tuchanka were the beetle-like, fire-breathing Klixen and the giant, dragon-like Harvesters, not to be confused with the Terran-given nickname of the Reapers. The Klixen and Haversters, the species, formed a symbiotic relationship, where the former would help transport the latter across various worlds. Currently, the winged creatures were being corrupted and turned into carriers for footsoldiers, like husks, marauders, and cannibals. The winged beast retained much of its external armor, but now had the soft tissue and skeletal structure replaced with machinery, almost like the underside of some contraption left to rust in the workshop. Swooping down on them from above, it began to hail fire upon them.

Fredrick narrowly protected the group from a hail of fire as two particle beams on the 'head' of the vehicle peppered the shield. "Spirits! Concentrate fire and take that thing down! Hurry!" Fredrick struggled as he threw another ball of biotic energy at it to shred its armor, and as it continued to fire and physically slam itself on his barrier. As it howled with artificial pain, it began to drop more troops from its reserves to advance on their position. Even with everything they threw at it, he could tell he couldn't keep it out long enough for his barriers to withhold.

A sharp crack whistled through the air, and a thermal round clipped clean through the carrier's head, causing it to crumble lifelessly over the wall they'd used for cover. Leaning out to investigate, the round came from none other than Garrus' rifle. "Sorry we're late. We came as fast as we could." Linda, Garrus, and James climbed out of cover as Tarquin offered a hand to lift them up. "Is this everyone left?"

"Sir, we're thirty men down, not including all the escape pods that were attacked by Reaper forces! We simply can't keep up the fight!" another soldier protested. A wave of angry mutters and curses followed from the other soldiers.

"I hate to interrupt any calm, but we've got to hurry," Fredrick injected. "Tarquin here was off to intercept a Cerberus unit sent to detonate a sub-terrain bomb planted on Tuchanka by the Hierarchy in the aftermath of the Krogan Rebellions. We've got to hurry and defuse it."

"And I hate to break the bad news to you, colonel, but all of us are tired, injured, low on medical equipment and ammo, and are generally unable to continue this mission given our current state." Tarqin's men were heavily worn by the constant fighting, and were remaining steadfast with the insistence that they be extracted.

"In turn, I hate to remind you guys that however this shitstorm happened to you guys, there's a lot more negative implications that will happen if we don't stop that bomb," Shepard interrupted. "The Krogan agreed to provide assistance to Palaven if they received a cure for the Genophage. If that bomb goes off, no one is coming to help Palaven, or worse. Saving a few hundred million more lives as a result is all that we can hope to accomplish at this point."

"I already gave you men this ultimatum. Right now, being able to go home is not a concern for any of us anymore. All we can hope to do anymore is lay down our lives so others don't have to. If you runts feel like heading back to the _Normandy_ with your tails between your legs, we've got shuttles on the way to help you do so. But if that bomb goes off, there won't be blood just lingering on the hands of those crooked puppets. The choice is yours." A dead silence passed between them. Müller and Shepard's strategies represented a hammer and a surgical knife respectively, but the words they carved met at a middle ground to carry the same message: the mission must be completed.

Lieutenant Tarqin sighed. "I owe up to the failures of this mission thus far, but the two are correct. That bomb will tip the balance of this war and innocents across the galaxy, not just Krogan lives. Those of you who want to back out, you have permission to do so on one of the shuttles. The others will be leaving to continue towards the bomb site. Does anyone wish to object?" All slowly shook their heads. "I didn't think so. Gather your gear, those shuttles are still coming."

* * *

 **14 hrs/28 min/08 sec**

"Mordin, can you hear me?"

 _Yes, M_ _üller. What do you need?_

"Room in the labs. I'll be bringing back any Cerberus corpses that I can. If we'll continue fighting these guys, I need to know what the Harvesters have done to them." Fredrick ended the call before standing up. All of the Turian platoon survivors had crammed onto three shuttles along with the team sent down to retrieve them. The group agreed they would be approaching from three different vectors to the bomb in order to keep Cerberus off their feet. Unfortunately, the _Normandy_ had spotted a few mortar positions to be wary of from orbit, meaning they would have to close the distance between where they deployed and where the next bit of cover is.

They were rapidly approaching their destination, and heavy gunfire violently shook the transport. _"We're approaching the bomb site. Prepare to disembark,"_ Steve announced over the shuttle intercom.

Without another warning, the shuttle door opened, giving a wide view of the site below. It was an old train station, with a large, open courtyard between them and where the building was. Cerberus soldiers and portable walls dotted the area below. "It's Shepard! Open fire!"

Jumping out as the shuttle touched down, everyone was left running and gunning as they hurried to cover. Loading another battery into his rifle, he noticed about nine mortar shells leaping straight into the air, raining down quickly on his position. Putting up a biotic barrier around the group, he didn't pay much attention to the detonations as the others did. Dropping the barrier, he lept from cover and rushed another group of Cerberus soldiers, knocking one down and shooting him, taking his blade and shoving it through the eye of another's helmet, and bashing a third's head with the butt of his rifle once he was on the ground.

This time, he barely had time to put up another barrier to cover himself from another mortar barrage. He returned to the fight, only to be pummeled by yet another barrage of mortar fire thirty seconds later. Something was up. "Lieutenant, how are you holding up against those mortars?"

 _We haven't encountered them yet. They're firing, but we can't tell where from our current position. Any trouble on your part?_ Tarquin replied over the static.

"Nothing but the soldiers. We're almost in the train station." It wasn't too surprising to him. Chances were the Harvesters finally picked up on him, and he's now back to being on their hit-list, not that he was ever taken off of it in the first place. In light of the transformed Humans in Cerberus armor, they were probably using them as the weapon to do so, just as the Collectors originally attempted to kill him on his return to Khonsu.

Tarquin opened up coms with them again as they entered. _We're in. Once we reach the bomb, I'll need to rewrite the trigger mechanism._

"Copy that. No trigger, no explosion," Shepard quipped.

Fredrick felt dissatisfied by the plan. "Wouldn't it just be easier to simply remove the trigger mechanism or sabotage the detonator? Those are just as equally effective, if not faster and less prone to risk. We can easily disarm the bomb and be out of there with the device before Cerberus can properly react."

"Shepard and Müller have breached the perimeter. Take them out!" As they passed the main gate, a group of Cerberus soldiers ahead ran to defensive positions, ready to hold them back. The group moved and most of the following Turians moved up while Fredrick hung back and tended to the minor wounds incurred on the way in. Picking up his rifle to continue the advance, he found himself face-to-face with a laser sight planted right on his visor. Rolling to the side, he narrowly dodged the bolt, only looking back to see the tracer left behind.

Garrus quickly returned fire on the unseen assailant. "Scoped and dropped. You seem to be on these guys' bucket list recently," Garrus chortled.

Fredrick grumbled as he was forced to continue hiding in cover while providing his allies a biotic wall to hide behind. Pushing forward, it gave him some breathing room to think about the issue at hand. "I can understand having a contingency plan, but was having a bomb that would crack Tuchanka in two really necessary? The Krogans were already on their knees, and they would've gone extinct anyways if they tried anything too risky anyways," he asked.

 _Shepard, Cerberus is putting up a fight, but we are advancing. The mortars are forcing us to circle around, but we're almost at the bombsite. I'll tell you more when we get there. Victus out._ The shells exploded in the background over the lieutenant's voice, barely making him distinguishable.

"Good work lieutenant. We are making a push ourselves. Looks like the remaining Cerberus forces here didn't have much fight in them to begin with." It was all too easy. First, the local Cerberus unit threw their bodies into the line of fire to keep them back, now they were heavily pulling out. Weaving through the complex, they began to see Cerberus soldiers using their suit thrusters to jump up to shuttles waiting to depart. "Lieutenant, we've got a problem. Cerberus is starting to pull out, we're running out of time."

 _I know. My men and I have reached the bombsite and have managed to clear out the mortar teams, but the bomb is armed and ticking down. They've left a unit behind to protect the bomb, and we don't have enough remaining men to hold them off. How far our are you?_

"We see you from where we are. Damn, that bomb must've been pretty deep for a drill that size." Fredrick climbed up a ramp to a view of the crumbled heart of the station. In the middle of a pit was a massive drill, with supports on either side. The drill bit had been moved aside, and the explosive device had been held in its claws. Down below were the remaining Turians from the other two drops finishing off the last of a small group of Cerberus engineers before turning to the bomb controls. Jumping down, Fredrick crawled over the unstable, uneven ruins to meet up with them while the others behind him took a slight detour. "What's the situation here, Victus?"

The young officer slammed his fist on the control panel in frustration. "Cerberus has erected a firewall around the trigger mechanism. I'll need to bypass it and it will take time, but it's old tech. I know what to do."

Fredrick simply stared at the kid. Not that he wanted to risk interfacing to risk frying his brain or blowing them all up, but he didn't exactly like the main option either. "And you're sure there isn't a way I could tear out the detonator or the trigger?"

"The thing is old and unstable. I wouldn't even _try_ if I were you," Tarquin insisted.

Linda and the others finally caught up through a more accessible route through the rubble. "How bad is it?"

"It's active, and they've wired up the trigger with a firewall to slow us down. It'll take me some time to work it out before this thing is properly defused," Victus reiterated.

James shook his head with dismay. "Well... now what?"

"We hold our current position until..." She paused with a sigh. "Müller, I know you'll indefinitely hate me for this, but we need you to interface and lift that firewall."

He huffed defiantly. "Fine. Just be ready if anything goes wrong."

* * *

 _**"Admittedly, the Collectors weren't as good an investment as we thought. You helped prove that. Do you like our replacement?"** The subconscious was always a scary place. He never went in without expecting to never wake back up again. He knew that whatever the virus was changing in him, it allowed possibly Harbinger to tap into his mind and probably chip away at him like a hammer and chisel. _

_Ignoring it, he found the firewall quickly enough. It was a simple mix between Harvester software and Cerberus software, but oriented well enough both could cover the weaknesses of the other. **"They make such good tools, and are much more flexible than the Protheans could ever hope to be. Once again, you helped to prove that."**_

 _Oh, that was the new tactic. By now, Harbinger that flashing scares before his mind like a poorly paced horror movie wouldn't work anymore, so gradually pissing him off into doing something stupid. Out of all fairness, it was surprisingly effective when he got impatient and jumped into trying to dismantle the firewall before being sharply forced out._

* * *

Whatever changes he had undergone, it did make recovering from neural interfacing much easier to recover from. Unfortunately, it did present him of the horror of the mistake he made. Now on screen was a countdown, indicating only sixty seconds before the device detonated. Furthermore, one of the Turian soldiers was suddenly domed by incoming fire. "Spirits! Cerberus has hacked the trigger mechanism! It's set to detonate! Cover me, I'm separating the trigger from the bomb before it detonates! Help me up, colonel!"

After lifting Tarquin to the top of the structure, Fredrick turned to join the others as they ran to a wall for cover. Providing a biotic barrier, he kept the others safe around him. While the increasing numbers of returning Cerberus forces were a cause for concern, it wasn't the heavily armed hostiles that had him concerned.

Forty-five seconds.

"Someone take care of that sharpshooter!" he gasped, struggling to keep up the barriers. With the need for cover fire, he decided to instead of reloading his rifle and returning that his performance would be boosted if he simply focused on keeping the wall up.

Thirty seconds.

The locking mechanism began to whirl, preparing to let loose the trigger module. However, the others were too focused on a now present Atlas mech to see to its completion. Neither did any of them notice the sizzle of the locking mechanism as sparks flew from one of the locks. It was only the sound of crunching metal and moving parts wheezing under the friction of rust did Fredrick turn to look.

Fifteen seconds.

One of the locks on the module failed to open up. Now, Tarquin was clinging onto the side for his life, manually taking apart the locks. Unfortunately, doing so meant he'd need to be on the side of the large claw, away from any position he could stick to in order to avoid falling down with the rest of the machinery. "Shit! Lieutenant!" Fredrick cried.

Tarquin gave the group one last sorrowful glance. "Victory... at any cost." He pulled one last piece off, before the claw came loose, sending him and the trigger module to the pits below. With one last effort, he attempted to rush over to the ledge and yank up the lieutenant away from his demise. Unable to do so in his drained state, he simply watched on as the detonation module exploded, leaving little else to see besides a bellowing cloud of smoke.

* * *

 **15 hrs/45 min/25 sec**

 **Returning to the SSV _Normandy_ over Tuchanka**

Very little passed between the remaining Turian troops and Shepard's team as they returned from the bombsite, with Wrex's men left behind to help clean the mess. In light of Tarqin's sacrifice, his men held a new level of respect for the deceased officer, forgiving him of the mistakes made until then. As Fredrick looked on at the Cerberus corpses laid at his feet for sampling, he ran the words through his mind over and over again about what to tell Adrien.

Tarquin may have been naive, but he was still a good kid at heart, and he could only imagine the Primarch flipping out at the news of his son's death. With both corpses under his arms, he silently walked past the medical crew in the cargo hold awaiting them to meet the injured's needs to the elevator. Without another word, he threw both bodies onto a table with little regard. "Ah, excellent! You brought back samples," Mordin greeted. "Good to... is something wrong?"

"Personal news. Still trying to figure out how to say it without coming off as insensitive," Fredrick replied blandly. Continuing on to the war room, Victus was talking over the coms with recovery teams on the planet surface below. Out of all honesty, he felt some level of responsibility for his son's death, being not only the one to set off the timer, but the one to also fail in bringing him to safety once the trigger had been separated from the heart of the bomb. "Primarch Victus," he saluted.

Adrien snapped to attention with lingering hope. "I'm glad you understand. Colonel, I heard the mission was a success. How many made it back from the crash?"

"Tarquin's unit took heavy casualties after the crash and making their way to the bomb. Cerberus had it rigged if it was tampered with too much to detonate shortly after. With all our lives on the line, your son stood up to pry the trigger off of the device, before falling to his untimely demise. He died a hero," Fredrick reported. "I'm sorry. It's my fault he didn't make it out." He could barely contain himself, and felt as if he were on the verge of tears.

The Primarch stood there with shock, mandibles and jaw hanging by threads. His head drooped before acknowledging his late son. "T-thank you. This has proven to be a difficult war. You did what you could. I... I m-must... as you were, colonel." Fredrick turned away past the approaching men from Tarquin's unit, leaving the Primarch to crumble against the ground by his station to mourn his loss.


	6. Chapter 6: Spoiled Seafood

Chapter 6: Spoiled Seafood

 _While I've been at my position on the_ Normandy _, I've still been providing commands and directions to various squads throughout the Galaxy on their own missions against horrendous odds. For the most part, they're parties of Terren soldiers, with the occasional exception of mixed-race operations, where there is no definitive leader besides some poorly defined conglomeration between races. They manage to gather some resources for the final push, but it all seems like an endless series of games for survival. Survival... is that all we can hope for now?_

* * *

 **May 08, 2186**

 **14 hrs/00 min/45 sec**

 **SSV _Normandy_ medbay, Century System, Hawking Eta, checking for salvage**

"Negative sergeant. You are to head to the evac point and hold your position. You've completed your objective, now get to safety," Fredrick insisted.

Fredrick had been watching over his various monitors as a squad of Terran soldiers carried out an mission to extract data from a Cerberus camp, killing any hostiles they encountered. _Sir, I repeat. There is a local civilian populace that is under heavy fire from Harvester forces. Permission to engage sir?_

"Permission denied. It's what the Harvesters would expect from us. With your current squad count, there is no way you can help them, much less provide the necessary transportation to get off world. That is an order." Dreadfully, he watched as the squad returned to the insertion point for exfil. It was a mission accomplished, but the oculus feed provided by their implants gave a thorough description of what the Harvesters were doing in the distance. _"They're just fucking with you. Ignore it."_ The Harvesters were equally capable of making dumb miscalculations thus far, but that didn't mean that they hadn't mastered the art of psychological warfare after eons.

Now his screen beeped. Closing the feed from the squad he was commanding, he found himself looking at a still annoyed Wrex. _M_ _ü_ _ller._

"Wrex, look. I know you're still pissed off about that bomb. And frankly, I am too. It was a severe miscalculation on behalf of the Hierarchy, but no one had a fucking clue this would happen. Besides, we defused the bomb and saved the planet. That's all that matters," Fredrick ranted, allowing his voice to escalate in volume. Ever since the conclusion of the mission two days prior, Wrex had been going on about if anyone else knew of the bomb's presence. "Besides, now we've got a nice big bomb on our hands we can catapult at some Harvesters. It's not the end of your race. Yet."

 _Alright, alright, I'll back off. At least you were down there when the thing was triggered,_ Wrex acknowledged, shying away.

"Good. I didn't need to hear anything more about that bomb anyways." He slouched in his seat as he stretched his arms before pressing his palms hard against his face. He constantly had the Primarch's son's death on his mind for the last two days now and was actively avoiding most outside activity in case he ran into the Primarch again. It was just a bad case of survivor's guilt.

"Müller, you holding out alright?" He hadn't noticed Shepard enter again.

His arms fell lifelessly down to his sides. "It's just war. It's sad and agonizing in the short run, but this too shall pass. As long as we don't fuck this up more than we have. I'm glad we still have Wrex. I'm not sure if he could've died along the way, but at least we have him in charge. He's taking this business about the bomb rather lightly. Obsessively, but lightly." He felt empty, so soul-crushing-ly empty. He tried brushing the worries off his mind, desperate to hide his loneliness like an orphaned child huddling in his dusty, bombed-out house. Even with his friends close, he needed something a bit closer.

"Shepard, I-" She'd left again while he lay his head back, returning to feeling sorry for himself. He had his mind set on the matter, but he didn't have an idea as to what would be appropriate. Jack walked in to check with Chakwas about the health of one of her students. With the current pressure, they hadn't had the time to stop by the Citadel to drop her and her students off. "Should wash your hands more frequently, kid. Just because you're in space doesn't mean you can't get food poisoning."

Jack rolled her eyes as she walked up. "Har-dee-har, Dr. Holmes. So what's up?"

"Just finished up guiding around of group of clueless men, trying to get shit done from afar. In a bit of a break session for now, and had my mind on other matters. Speaking of which, what makes an especially appealing gift to a woman?" Fredrick asked.

She simply squinted, giving a sideways glance. "How should I know, creep? I never grew up with fancy toys and shit, remember? The Cerberus lab? Look, if you really wanted to get a girl something, get her a necklace of Cerberus tags. They're less inclined to rot over time, like if you gave her a necklace of toes, fingers, or ears. It still looks nice."

He raised an eyebrow for a moment before staring off with an idea. "Actually, thanks. That gives me an idea." Fredrick turned back to his console to send an equipment request to the _Sokol_ , still stationed at the Citadel last he heard. They had 3D-printers on board, they could work something.

* * *

 **May 11, 2186**

 **08 hrs/43 min/00 sec**

 **Utukku, Mulla Xul System, Ninmah Cluster**

He desperately wanted to sleep in, but Shepard had other plans for him. Wrex had asked them to investigate a missing squad of Krogan scouts sent to investigate rumors of a Rachni activity through the relay along with a platoon of Krogan commandos called Aralack Company. Garrus, Fredrick, Javik, and herself were the only members aboard the _Normandy_ who had direct combat experience with Rachni, and were subsequently needed for the mission. For a race of insectoids that nearly drove the other races to extinction two millennia prior, none of them needed reminding why this was a crucial mission.

"I distinctly remember suggesting we gas that queen rather than spare her when we were last on Noveria," Fredrick pondered sarcastically, looking to the ceiling of the shuttle. "Hopefully, those commandos know how to deal with some Shrimp."

"We don't know much, but no Rachni activity has been reported _officially_ ," Linda replied, ignoring the doctor's quip. "Just be ready for anything, guys." The Alliance shuttle touched down in the middle of a small crevasse, facing a group of Krogan-made prefabs. Outside were roughly a dozen Krogan in black armor. Amidst the middle was a Krogan in chrome armor, with a gray head crest and blue eyes. However, this Krogan looked to be more in his teens rather than a full-fledged adult. "Grunt?"

"Shepard? Heh! Shepard! Hahahaha!" He rushed forward to give a friendly jab on the shoulder pad.

"Grunt! What are you doing here?" Shepard asked, chuckling. It was an amusing sight to see what she only though of as an overgrown toddler leading a squad of Krogan commandos.

The others began to gather their gear as the group continued to converse. "Wrex assigned me as squad leader of this company, said he wanted someone who represented the future of the Krogan to help lead. After I went through the Rite of Passage, I'd found my place in Clan Urdnot. It still took me a couple of months to earn my place in the clan. But through sweat and blood, I earned their respect."

"I wish I could say the same. The Council didn't put me in lockup like how Müller was shipped off to maximum security, but I nearly went deaf from their squabbling and drama," she said, beaming with pride for their young Krogan.

"You said it. That's why I'm out here running Aralak Company. They may be reckless and excessively overextend, but they're tough and effective."

"You were a pain in the ass. But if these commandos are half the Krogan you are, we might have a chance to get out of here in one piece."

"Which is why I'm glad you're back at cracking some skulls, Shepard. Hard to believe this might be Rachni! A chance to face the old enemy? Impossible to resist!"

Javik took note of Grunt's attributes. "Yes, you are the Krogan who had occupied my quarters prior to my arrival. You'd left your mark."

Grunt was still young. Even with knowledge that the Collectors were heavily modified Protheans, he couldn't exactly put two and two together just yet. "What! Who's this, Shepard?"

The Prothean continued to warn, "You shouldn't be so enthusiastic to face the Rachni. They were a formidable opponent, even to my people."

"Javik's right," Fredrick commented. "If we are heading face-first into a Shrimp nest, you can't be too careful. Dealing with mines full of those things was hard as a kid."

"We can explain later," Garrus shrugged, meeting Grunt's confused glance.

The young Krogan's expression didn't change. "Whatever. Move out Aralak Company." Grunt hung back at the back of the pack to continue talking to the others. "This is bad. This place smells wrong, like an infected wound. Scans showed the tunnels leading to a central chamber, but that's it."

"We hadn't noticed any activity on the way in," Linda informed. "We know as much as you do about the scouts or the Rachni presence."

"Great. Time to teach you kids how to clear out a Shrimp nest. This'll be fun," Fredrick laughed nervously. Okeer had implanted the Rachni's history and knowledge of their encounter with the crazed drones on Noveria three years prior, but had otherwise not been granted any knowledge on tactics. Aralak Company, as Grunt described it, was a collective of the best Krogan warriors from various clans compiled into one. They were young, but strong, capable, and were probably classified to handle the situation. But from the brief description of Grunt's life on Tuchanka before the war started, he'd earned his place and his team's respect.

Approaching what was left of the established prefabs, half were missing, replaced by an enormous sinkhole in the valley where the scouts had set up. There was minimal signs of struggle, no bodies, no blood, no shuttle, and no record established as to what happened before all coms were cut. Down below was a large chasm, with the remains of equipment crates and prefabs down below, about thirty meters down. Fredrick and Javik used their biotics to gently leap down and scout around while Linda and Garrus peered down from the prefab on the ledge above. "See anything?" Shepard asked.

"Nothing, commander. We'll be returning shortly," Javik yelled, voice echoing off the chasm walls. The pit did meet with a cave mouth, leading deeper underground, but wasn't very revealing of what lay ahead.

 ***Crunch*** Above, the cliff face underneath the prefab Garrus and Linda were in began to crumble. "The ground is giving way! Get back! Get back!" Grunt ordered. Javik and Fredrick raced away to avoid the falling debris. As the dust gradually cleared, they could see Garrus helping Shepard to her feet. "Shepard! You guys alright down there!?" Grunt and his company peered down from the ledge above, careful not to fall themselves.

She winced with pain, but her armor and barriers kept her otherwise safe during the fall. "We're fine! Keep in radio contact, we're going in!"

"We'll find our way to you! Hang in there!" They quickly disappeared, scampering off to find another entrance.

Gathering their wits, they walked in, eyeing the shadows cast by the cave's mouth. Soon enough, they found their first scout, dead only ten meters in. He'd only been dead a few days, but the muscles had gone slack over the flamethrower in his hands. Picking up the weapon, Fredrick muttered, "If we're walking into a hive, we'll need this. Especially for the webbing. Looks like the Shrimp have made a home here, but the coloring looks rotten." Not much further in was a series of webs, stretching the entirety of the tunnel.

Fredrick burned away the gray mess as Javik commented, "Indeed. Their webbing is more of a silvery gray. This is almost black, like a rotten fruit." Besides their armor floodlights, there was a pool of a glowing blue substance down below reflecting light off the stalactites above. As they got closer, they found clusters of purple pods with a thick gray base supporting them. Dull chrome cables wove in and out like blood vessels, and around the ground like roots from a tree. "Those eggs – if they are eggs – are definitely not natural. Their eggs are more of a leathery brown. Not... that."

They gradually burned their way into large chamber with bridging paths over more of the serene blue liquid. The silence and tranquility was finally broken when what looked to be a Rachni warrior entered from a pathway near the opposite end of the room. The Rachni had clearly undergone transformations enforced by the Harvesters, including replaced limbs with mechanical replacements, grayed and decayed skin, an artificial blue glow from its eyes and implants, cords weaving through its body, and a blue circle behind its head. It's tentacles had been replaced with small cannons and enormous, veiny, fleshy pods grew under its stomach, releasing small critters as it crawled along. Along side was the familiar screech of husks, as undead Krogan meshed with twisted Human corpses lunged forward. "Grunt! We've got company!" Shepard informed over the coms.

 _Light 'em up!_ Fredrick rolled to the side, narrowly dodging a small blast of red energy before torching the group of approaching husks, reducing them to wet ashes. Even as the mindless drones were disposed of, the almost artillery-like pounding of the corrupted Rachni continued to pound away at his cover. Garrus took a shot at the front-most sac on one of the approaching hostiles, breaking it open to unleash a horde of offspring. What looked like corrupted Rachni workers, they were fast, small, and relentless in their approach, nearly overwhelming Fredrick as he raced to pull out his sidearm. Aggressively shaking them off, made quick work of them, stomping them under boot. _Just lost a man up here to a sink hole. What a waste. What's going on down there?_

"It's Rachni alright, but it looks like the Reapers got to 'em," Linda reported, reloading her shotgun. "We also found some of what's left of the scouts."

 _Aaah! Finally! Something to kill! Shame about the scouts though._

"Whatever those things are hiding, it must be big. And it looks like the Harvesters have already had their way." The group continued to sweep the chamber for additional egg sacks before looking up to see enormous, metal claws clinging to the interior walls of the cavern.

 _Found more about those scouts. We found more of the team along our path, including their team leader. They were hit hard, and were ordered to bring heavy weapons into the caves. They knew the next team would need help,_ Grunt explained.

"They died to ensure we made it to the central chamber. Come on!" Burning more egg sacks and damaging the invading infrastructure, Fredrick burned down more of the webbing in their path when the ceiling began to violently shake. Rushing forward, the team narrowly avoided the cave-in as the pathway behind them disappeared. "Is everyone alright? Looks like we're finding a different way out of here," Linda called out.

Grunt called in to make sure. _Heard a disturbance. Was that you?_

"Just a cave in. We're still alright, but our pathway out is blocked," Shepard answered.

 _Stay safe down there. I don't want to have to dig your remains out._

* * *

 **09 hrs/53 min/34 sec**

"Die you Shrimp bastards!" Fredrick loaded another fuel canister into the salvaged flamethrower before letting out another burst.

 _We're getting close, Shepard!_ Grunt reported. _These bastards are picking up their fight!_

"Casualties?" Linda asked, popping the Batarian head off of a cannibal.

 _Negative. Besides, Krogan fight better when they're angry._

They walked further down the winding cave, the group jumped into a foggy opening with a number of pods waiting for them. They were blacker than those encountered earlier, and pulsated more aggressively. The sacs burst to reveal more of the corrupted Rachni workers. "Fucking piece of shit... Die! And stay dead! Fucking Shrimp!"

More pods were found around the corner. "This is unusual. In my cycle, we found the Rachni in especially hazardous environments."

"I agree," Fredrick reminisced. "Still, they're biologically different now, whatever the Harvesters did to them. Either way, they're breeding an army down here. It's dark, quiet, and secluded. Just how the Shrimp liked it _normally_."

"Shh! Do you guys hear that?" Garrus hissed. Distantly, they could hear numerous shotguns firing. "At least we're on the right track too if Grunt's squad is near. Let's keep moving." They didn't have much time to destroy more of the eggs before coming to a cliff facing a pathway where Grunt's squad was holding out, with their backs to a door.

Grunt tossed one of the corrupted warriors off the ledge as he yelled, _Shepard! We're getting blocked and we're getting overrun! We're stuck at a door that's definitely not Rachni webbing. Where are you?!_

"We see you. We're making our way around. Maybe we can open that door on the other side." Burning the path through more webbing, the group saw a Harvester-built terminal up ahead, quickly shooting it to open the door behind them and the door on a ledge above them, allowing Grunt's squad to fall back through it.

Grunt's team had suffered severe casualties, when they arrived. They were down six of the twelve men, excluding Grunt himself on their way in. "Thanks, Shepard. That wasn't Rachni webbing keeping us out. It's some sort of Reaper structure."

"We ran into the same thing earlier. Looks like they were keeping something locked up down the other passage. We should hurry," Shepard suggested, pointing to the other door.

"No. If it's anything Okeer taught me about the Rachni, it's that they will find a way to pen us in. We'll hold the fort here, keep the exit open for you guys to finish off whatever's down there. Now get going," Grunt denied.

Fredrick sighed, handing back the flamethrower to one of the men. "Good luck holding the line. Just make sure they're funneled into one path."

"We don't need luck. We have ammo. Still, thanks for the advice. We did bring some explosive charges for that." Turning away, they progressed down the tunnel, with Grunt's shotgun ringing behind them. Advancing to the end and through a small crawlspace, the group entered the central chamber. It was large, had numerous supports around some central biomass, with tendril supports attaching it to the pillars around it, with dim lighting from the pools of blue liquid.

"Let's go have a closer look before-" Tooth-like gates rose around their entrance and behind the biomass in the center of the enormous room. "Oh, for Christ- move!" Even as they sprinted, more gates rose around the biomass and walled them off from the area surrounding the middle of the chamber. "Damn it! Find those power nodes! Hurry!" she ordered, barely audible over the sound of the undead roars filling the room.

Quickly shooting a node right above them situated on the pillar, one of the gates dropped to reveal a group of husks, cannibals, infectors, and the corrupted Rachni, ready to ambush them. Biotically yanking up another flamethrower, abandoned in the corner of the room, Fredrick initiated his nanite barrier, walked forward, and held the trigger down. It was certainly wasteful of bioelectric energy as he continued to keep the barrier up instead of reserving it for the rush out of the tunnels. He was still tired and now irritated. Damaging the last power node, he looked around with some lingering satisfaction at the moldy ashes of the undead put to rest, watching as the rest began to scamper down the other tunnels. "Clear."

 _Shepard, is everything alright down there?_ Grunt inquired. _Whatever you did, it's scaring the Rachni and husks off. You better hurry up down there and finish._

"Will do. Müller, patch up Javik and catch up. This window won't stay open for much longer." The gate facing the front entrance opened up as they approached, revealing the Rachni queen, with black tendrils of artificial webbing keeping her in place. Along the walls, more Krogan corpses were cocooned to the walls, acting as the medium for which she spoke to them.

The corpses bellowed along with the queen's own hissing, combining like the wind of a typhoon. "Si- lence. The maddening sour note has silenced."

"Are you the queen we released on Noveria?"

"We are the last queen. We listen for the children. Their voices are... hollow. The machines took them, changed them, twisted them to their needs before sending them to war. They die alone, silent, and far away." The dead Krogan spasmed in their cocoons as they spoke their queens words. "We have thus far resisted the corrupting taint of the machine enemy."

"We can see. My instinct tells otherwise, but we are short in allies, and we cannot afford to turn down more allies. We'll get you out," Fredrick reassured.

The queen hissed angrily. "You bear the machines' note. Your word carries little weight."

"The fact I haven't shot my allies or they haven't executed me are grounds that I just might be trustworthy, am I not? If it earns your trust, I have reason to trust you for the remaining duration of this war. Your mind hasn't been affected by their taint like the remains of your children have."

"Your music has a note of sincerity to it. We will trust you. Break our last shackle and break us free!" The ceiling above them violently shook with heavy movement. "Aaah! The children return to drown us out!"

 _Shepard, we're picking up a lot of movement up here. Whatever it is you're doing down there, hurry it up. We won't last long against this next wave,_ Grunt called hastily. _Is that clear?_

"We hate the machines!" the queen begged. "We will fight for our unborn children. Release us! We know of alternate routes to the surface!"

"Get back to the surface, don't wait for us Grunt. Garrus, break that lock. Fredrick, Javik, how would we combat Rachni on the run like this?" Linda began ordering.

"Our best chance would be to cover our tracks with explosives, and detonate them as we return to the surface," Fredrick started.

Javik nodded in agreement. "He is correct. The Rachni heavily rely on numbers from numerous positions to overwhelm their prey. If we funnel them into a single entrance, they'll be forced into approaching from a single direction. It will then be a matter of maintaining constant fire."

The Rachni queen tore herself from her binds. "This way, we don't have much longer," she said, stomping towards the other side of the cave.

The scratching steps of the corrupted Rachni warriors filled the corridors on the other side of the chamber as Fredrick rigged the mouth of the tunnel the others exited through with explosives. Seeing the large wave descend upon his position like locusts, he turned around and ran, triggering the explosives as he ran to cut them off. Fredrick and Javik brought Alliance detonation charges with them for the mission, and would alternate as the dropped explosives along branching tunnels that fed into the one they ran along, detonating them to cut off more Harvester forces. "Commander! We are almost out of explosive charges!"

They could still feel the subtle rumble of the horde's footsteps as they ran up the tunnels. "Keep moving and make those explosives count!" The group continued to run to a small chamber with two other necks to their sides. Above them was a large gate, sealing the path off. "Dammit! It's blocked!"

Fredrick handed one of his two remaining charges to Javik. "Last one. Place it well. So now what?" The group prepared to make one more stand against the approaching hostiles. With two tunnels destroyed, they at least had the benefit of only needing to fire down one tunnel to hold them off.

The Rachni queen simply hissed at the gate before opening her maw to release a spew of a caustic green liquid, which began to rapidly eat away at the door before using her claws to heavily scratch at the path way onward. _Aralak Company has successfully returned to the surface, Shepard. Where are you?!_

"We're making our own way out!" she yelled over her biotic shockwave. "The Rachni queen found a way out, but it will take some time to get through the Reaper infrastructure!"

 _What! A Rachni queen? Shepard you do realize th-_

"She's still at war with the Reapers, she's friendly! Besides, this is the same queen we encountered on Noveria. She knows us. I'll talk with you later. Keep firing!" She slid in a new thermal clip as the others kept the corrupted Rachni and husks back.

"Linda, I'm running low on thermal clips!" Garrus informed as he reloaded his assault rifle.

Javik tossed another ball of biotic energy as he quipped, "Don't say I didn't offer to train you in the use of our particle rifles, Turian!" Along with the stasis pod they'd found Javik in on Eden Prime, Linda and the others also found a locker full of Prothean particle rifles, still relatively functional after years of disuse.

Howling, the Rachni queen stopped scratching and took a few paces backwards before running forward, ramming through the weakened gate. "The path is clear! Go! Go!" Fredrick yelled, putting up a wall to cap off the undead rush.

Outside, two Alliance shuttles awaited them along with five of the remaining members of Aralak Company. Spotting them, Grunt and the other four rushed over to meet them. "There you are! I was about to head back down there to get you! And I see you've got another friend along."

"Yeah, I'm not sure how we'll be getting her off the planet..." The group watched as the enormous Rachni scampered past the group of shuttles and towards another enormous cave nearby. Linda got onto the shuttle and was about to order the pilot to take them along to investigate when a large blue light flickered from inside before a dreadnought-sized ancient ship rose from within to take off.

Cortez the pilot looked down to see the ship intercom flashing. Accepting the call, he could only hear a sharp static for a few seconds. _"Shepard. We are grateful for your help. We will join the effort to combat the machine threat, and we will continue to sing about you."_

The others got aboard the shuttle, with Fredrick standing close behind the pilot. "Okay, maybe this will work for once."

* * *

 _The burning city. All roads led back here again. He was the machine again, but this time it was different. Leaping forward, he used one claw to grab the neck of another drone before taking its head and tearing it off. Tossing it aside, he fired a single rocket into the chest of another, charging him head on, generating an explosion that left little more than a set of limbs and a head. **"You fight. You push. You lead the way."** He continued to fight against the other drones in the city, with little the other drones could do to fight back. Perhaps it was because his platform was of a superior build, but the combat felt more fluid and natural compared to how he initially remembered it._

 _There wasn't a sentry nest halting his progress, allowing him to cleanly move onto the open courtyard. The metro entrance was empty, but had signs that someone had previously been in there, with marks on the ground showing crates and supplies had been dragged away. Standing in the middle by a broken fountain, he looked around him as more of the drones began to leak into the square, either from the other streets or through the damaged remains of the buildings around them. He stood alone against a dozen._

 _Narrowly dodging a barrage of rockets, exploding some distance behind him, he extended his arm to fire back upon one of the assailants as shot several rockets behind him, flattening a group of drones attacking his flank. Using a statue as cover, he fired another set of rockets at the lobby of a building, causing it to topple onto another squad of hostile drones, before leaping over the statue and crashing down upon them, tearing through the four with his claws. Feeling another hail of rounds graze his shoulder plates, he switched around and attempted to fire more rockets before realizing he was out. Rushing to cover, he waddled his way back to the center of the square, gunning down the last of the drones in close quarters._

 _He'd expended a lot of energy and much of his ammo reserves to fighting them, but he'd won, scanning the area, he had just noticed a large group of survivors exiting the metro station, now surrounding him in the center of the square. **"You fight. You push. You lead the way. You resist us, but can they really tell the difference?"** The various survivors were clearly not approaching with friendly intentions in mind. He simply sat there not raising his weapons, allowing them to approach. One Krogan amongst the crowd was the first to charge upon him with a clenched fist. Leaping into the air, he rushed forward and painfully hit the side of his head._

He snapped back awake as Grunt slugged him across the head. "Are you even listening?"

 **May 16, 2186**

 **11 hrs/34 min/03 sec**

 **SSV _Normandy_ medbay, en route to the Citadel Station, Serpent Nebula**

"Mmmmm, sorry. You were saying?"

"You seem awfully sluggish recently. Are you alright?" Grunt inquired.

Fredrick stretched as he slowly answered, "I was sleeping rather well until you hit me across the head, thank you."

Grunt glared. "Am I boring you? You were just fine listening to my story until I woke you back up."

Now it was starting to come back to him. Grunt had been telling his side of the war and what happened to his squad during the mission to the Rachni's system. "No, just getting a little extra shut eye. I've been having several system-problems recently, I'll have them thoroughly checked when we get back. Anyways, I've got to get back to work. Talk to you later."

Grunt waddled away as he turned back to his work, looking over his . With a bird's-eye view, he watched as the shuttle approach its destination. Instead of just Terrans this time around, it was a Terran vanguard, a Quarian technician, a Drell scout, and an Asari commando on the ground, exiting the shuttle. _Sir, we've landed groundside._

"We've got the coordinates to some very shiny equipment down there. Secure the LZ and await further instructions."


	7. Chapter 7: No Rest for the Wicked

Chapter 7: No Rest for the Wicked

 _Thankfully, most of the system glitches I'm now experiencing occur away from the front-lines, but it is nevertheless distressing when it does occur. We'll be arriving at the Citadel soon, so I should have a better diagnosis when we get back. To be fair, I'm surprised that the Harvesters haven't tried to retake the Citadel yet. Perhaps it's supposed to be easier, retaking something that is in essence already theirs._

* * *

 **May 27, 2186**

 **15 hrs/18 min/07 sec**

 **SSV _Normandy_ medbay, en route to the Citadel Station**

"Hey doc, you have a minute?" Fredrick snapped awake at the sound of Shepard's voice. Sleepily, he straightened up in his straightened up in his seat as she continued to taunt him. "Or are you still enjoying your beauty sleep?"

"For Christ's sake, I'm trying to catch some sleep here," he groaned, glaring at her through the bright medbay lighting.

"Yeah, except you've been sawing logs for the last week. You can't really be that tired from commanding strike teams," she hissed.

He hadn't noticed a week had passed. It almost felt like the mission to rescue the Rachni queen was yesterday. Checking the clock, it had been a week since then. "Remind me, what happened last mission?"

"Look, I know you have something fucking around with your systems, but can you really not remember the labs, the notes, the brainwashed, yet not indoctrinated lab workers? You really can't remember from three fucking days ago?"

* * *

 **May 24, 2186**

 **17 hrs/28 min/48 sec**

 **2182 Despiona, Psi Tophet System, Sigurd's Cradel, "three fucking days ago"**

Standing in an exploration mech before a giant chasm deep below the ocean surface, a giant creature short of half a kilometer swam up before her. It resembled a Reaper in that it had a similar physiology to cuttlefish or squid, but had tan plating. It's eyes were a crystal blue and in clusters of three on either side of its head. _"You have come too far,"_ it hissed in her head, like nails on blackboard.

It flashed into her mind briefly, showing herself on a dark, empty plane before she sharply peered back into reality. "I had to find you," Linda simply stated.

 _"This is not your domain. You have breached the darkness."_

"You killed a Reaper. I have to know why."

 _"They are the enemy. They seek our extermination."_

Once again, the giant creature, this Leviathan, flashed the dark plane in her mind. "But, we thought you were a Reaper."

 _"They are echos. We existed long before."_

"Then what are you?"

 _"Something more. Your mind belongs to us now."_

She was now pulled into her mind, the Leviathan with her as it wriggled within her memories. In the dark plane, she found herself on her knees, coughing painfully. The ground below her was almost like glass, with a storm brewing underneath. Getting up, she saw what appeared to be the controlled Dr. Ann Bryson standing before her. "Ann? What's going on here?"

 _"Your memories give form to our words. We will reveal your nature. Accept this."_

She simply glared back with annoyance and defiance. "The Galaxy is at war with the Reapers. You defeated one. Why aren't you fighting back?"

 _"There is no war. There is only the harvest."_

"Then why not help us stop it?"

Ann dissolved in a cloud of smoke. Circling around Linda, the cloud reformed in the shape of the late Dr. Garret Bryson. _"None have possessed the strength in past cycles. Even a species like yours could be destroyed with a single thought. But you are different."_ The smoke reappeared, shifting around her again, taking the form of the late doctor's lab assistant, looking through a periscope at a lab table back in front of her. _"I have witnessed your destruction of Nazara and the Collectors. The Reapers view the likes of you and Dr. M_ _ü_ _ller a threat. And I must understand why._ _"_

Once again, the smoke shifted to form another nameless lab worker, huddled next to where she stood in her mind. _"Before the cycles, our kind was at its apex. The lesser species were our thralls, servants of our needs. We grew more powerful, and they were safe within our care. However, we couldn't protect them from theirselves. They were inclined to commit to self destruction on a scale far beyond what your species is familiar with. Furthermore, they were inclined to fight with the machines they themselves created. Tribute does not flow from a dead race."_ The smoke turned into Ann as it stood back up. _"We created an intelligence with the mandate to preserve life at any cost, to find a solution to the constant warring between life of flesh and life of metal. As it studied life's developments, as it evolved, its understanding grew until it found a solution. In that instance, it turned on us, hunted the majority of us down, and forced the survivors into hiding. It chose us as the first victims of the harvest, creating the first Reaper, otherwise known as Harbinger, even in our own tongue."_ It paused, shifting into Ann with a projector in her hands, showing the various species it had originally known. _"It created its own army of pawns from those we sought to protect. Originally, they travelled the stars, gathering data on our existence. Then, in one swift moment and one single command, they began to exterminate us. Now, we helplessly watch through the technology we left behind as the cycle continues for eons to come."_

"So you built a machine to accomplish peace despite what the thralls had experienced. Why?" Linda inquired.

Turning into Dr. Bryson, it walked along, showing her a projection of the galaxy. _"Through the technology these species created for themselves, we believed we could manipulate them. Indirectly protecting them with the means they use for their daily lives."_

"And now, we pay the price for your mistake."

 _"There is no mistake. It still serves its purpose. With each species it consumes, it creates another Reaper from the essence of their culture, biology, and memory. Perfect in design, and each formed in Harbinger's image. Our image. Each Reaper retains our ability to influence organics. Over the cycles, this process was refined, corrupted, and gave rise to what you know as indoctrination."_

"So why the cycles? Why the perpetual extinction? Why the destruction?"

 _"We cannot understand ourselves. We don't know of the mental process the intelligence underwent to come to the conclusion for the necessity of a cycle. For all we can understand, that purpose has yet to be fulfilled. It subsequently made the Mass Relays to accelerate and increase the efficiency of the cycles. The Galaxy became an experiment, and evolution its tool."_

Linda huffed angrily. "So that's it? This will never end?"

 _"Unknown. Until the intelligence finds what it is looking for, the cycle will continue."_

"And what about the Crucible? Will it work?"

 _"We do not know. The Crucible has never been completed. Those who tried still fell victim to the harvest."_

"Fine, you've made your point. Will you help us?"

 _"We have searched your mind. You are an anomaly – yet it is not enough. However, we have seen another. The doctor you simply know as Wolf bears potential to discontinue the cycle, yet he also bears potential to fall victim to the intelligence's war machine. We will help, but you must watch him carefully lest the cycle continue."_

The smoke dissipated for a moment, leaving Linda alone in her mind. Suddenly, she snapped awake, finding herself back inside the mech. Before her, more of the Leviathans swam up to fill the chamber. _"Your confidence is singular, but it is earned. The Reapers fear you because your victories are more than by chance. We will fight, but not for you. We will contribute, but out of need to survive. We are the apex race."_

Suddenly, the console began to flash system failure warnings. Out of pure adrenaline, she initiated the thrusters on the underside of the vehicle, carrying herself back to the surface towards her squad. Perhaps by then, the shuttle was capable of leaving the planet surface.

* * *

"No, I don't. However, come to mention it, I do remember you telling me that I'm essentially an asset and a threat."

"Better than nothing at all," Shepard chuckled. "Speaking of which, you're crazy and part-Reaper by now, right? Maybe you could provide a better explanation as to what the hell the Reapers think they can accomplish?"

"Well, if it's any comfort in the fact I'm _not_ a Harvester, is the fact I see no reason why this fucking cycle should continue to exist. But whatever reason they do have, it's bullshit."

Shepard still couldn't help but break a smile. "Fine. Anyways, get ready, and do whatever the hell it takes to stay awake this time. We'll be arriving in a few more hours." She turned around sharply to leave the medbay.

Fredrick turned around to face his console, finding the screen still on. He'd been previously watching over another strike team and had left the screen on after they had evacuated. "Shit."

* * *

 **15 hrs/04 min/20 sec Local time**

 **Citadel Station**

"Hey Freddy. Nice we'll finally be getting some shore leave, huh? Crazy to think how fast things go now," Joker greeted.

"Yeah. I definitely remember years going by before anything this catastrophic happened and wishing things would come at me a bit faster. A wish I dearly regret." He walked up the bridge to stand alongside Joker and what was now the physical form of EDI. Before he'd been brought on board, Linda, Kaidan, Ashley, and James had encountered a Cerberus infiltration mech on Mars before capturing it. Keeping it in the AI core, EDI eventually managed to hook herself up with it, essentially giving herself a platform to physically interact with the crew with. It was sleek, chrome with blue lining, and streamlined to match the Human female form, including 'hair' that was integral to the head. Her eyes had a holographic orange visor projected over them like glasses. "Hey EDI, quick question."

EDI now sat in the copilot instead of being projected from her podium to Jeff's left. "What is it you inquire, Colonel Müller?" she asked, cooly as ever.

"How do you... understand... existence? I mean, is it any different from how any of the rest of us interpret what we detect with our senses and how our brain analyzes that data?" If he was for however it was explained slowly be degrading into a Harvester, he may as well know what the experience of being an AI would be like beforehand.

She paused for a moment before summarizing the answer. "The Holographic Theory of Existence postulates that we are merely 2-D information painted on the cosmological horizon. However, the holographic consciousness I recognize as myself is only able to perceive matter and energy. Thus, I'm only able to theorize, but never experience it. Possibly, even the Reapers are limited this way. May I confirm this question was out of concern for your well being?"

"It's... more or less that reason. So basically, you 'know' of the universe around you, but you don't have the capacity to 'believe' it? That sort of thing?" Fredrick answered hesitantly.

"Correct. This has been an issue plaguing AI development for as long as it has existed for Humans."

"So what's the issue here? I'm not exactly catching on," Jeff pressed.

Fortunately, Garrus and Shepard walked up the bridge before the conversation could continue further. "Joker, let the crew know we'll be going on shore leave for a couple of days. Is everything else alright up here?"

"Yeah. So what's the plan for shore leave?" Joker returned.

"Finish some fetch jobs, buy some upgrades and equipment, and visit the refugees." Fredrick had noted Garrus was feeling nervous for his family, as his father Julianos and sister Solana had still been on Palaven when the first wave hit.

"I hear ya. God, those poor people out there." Jeff didn't tell much about his family, but he did briefly mention his sister and how he hadn't heard from her since the start of the invasion.

Landing in the Alliance docks at the Citadel, mechanics and engineer crew went to work seeing to repairs and resupply runs to replace used rations and equipment. Entering an elevator off of the platform, Garrus, Linda, Fredrick, Jeff, and EDI went to the civilian sector to check the refugee and death listings. EDI had been pushing along Jeff in a wheel chair, as the crippled pilot was still victim to his condition.

Leaving the elevator, they walked past the various active shops and living areas, still bustling with life. Even amidst the otherwise normal Citadel life, the number of people around had seemingly doubled as the refugees continued to flock to Citadel space, away from the massive Harvester forces. A wall in the center of the sector had been dedicated to putting up photos and names of those missing or dead. Garrus' eyes fixed on two particular Turians amidst the crowd. "Dad! Solana!"

"Garrus! Oh, thank Spirits you're still alive!" Solana, a smaller and clearly younger Turian, rushed forward to meet her brother in a vigorous hug. She mostly resembled Garrus in plate and eye coloring as well as their colony markings, with the major differences being she had the distinctive shorter fringe of female Turians and a lack of scared facial plating on the right side of her face.

"Colonel Müller, you look like you're doing well for yourself." Julianos was as he remembered him from the last time they had encountered each other. However, he had long since shed his C-Sec uniform in favor of a local militia suit and showed signs of aging, including wrinkles on the skin between plates and the wear on the plates directly, having the texture of aged nails. As had been the tradition between them since their first encounters after the Human-Turian conflict, they would speak in the common tongues of the other's race, as to antagonize the other.

"As are you. Still taking up the rifle, are you?" Fredrick replied.

"Duty calls all Turians. Besides, you're still taking your sweet time to find your place away from the battlefield." Julianos was already far above average Turian height, meeting Fredrick's height so that neither could look down upon the other. Surprisingly, Julianos continued, "Still, the feats you have performed in recent years and the public action you've prompted is a feat few should have to do alone or with such few friends. Besides, in these dark times, you kept Garrus alive. That's all I can ask for." The elder Turian proceeded to stick his hand out, prompting a hand shake.

Fredrick was initially shocked that he had prompted that the two burry the hatchet and cease their mutual hostilities. "Thank you, Julianos. I suppose there's no need to grovel. Someone has to do the hard work. Like you said: duty calls," he agreed, shaking the former C-Sec investigator's hand.

"I believe that you're confusing the terms 'committing to duty' with 'committing suicide'," Julianos joked with a dry chuckle.

"Is there a difference? Besides, we shouldn't have to maintain these pointless conflicts. At least until the threat of extinction has passed." Julianos parted ways to check in with C-Sec, leaving Solana to enjoy the company of her brother.

"That was mildly entertaining," EDI commented.

Jeff was slightly hesitant to add, "Yeah... that was definitely strange."

Fredrick gave a look at Garrus before saying, "Garrus, whatever you may hold against your father, I can at least say that I respect him."

"What can I say? He's just as suicidal himself, seeing how often the news depicted him taking point in counter-terrorist raids and drug busts," the younger Vakarian shrugged.

"That too. I was talking more about the fact that there are very few non-Terrans who will stand up to me like that. For that, he has earned my merit." Fredrick himself departed shortly after to slowly walk to the _Sokol_.

* * *

 **15 hrs/31 min/07 sec**

Walking alone along the now bustling docks of Terran military, Fredrick wormed his way through to the docking bridge of the _Sokol_. At the gate to greet him was none other than Nolan. "And about damn time too. I wish the circumstances were different, but I'm more or less glad to see you're in one piece."

"I am too. Is everyone else still here, too?" Fredrick returned.

"No, it's just me now. Even Ivan has shifted posts for the war. Come on, let's get your system analysis." The two walked to the medbay before Nolan finally asked, "So, memory lapses? And nothing fake replaces them?"

"Basically. Think of it like Alzheimer's on memories over time. They're gone, but it leaves this distinct void as to what happened." Fredrick stripped off his armor and laid back in the seat.

"Strange. At least you aren't infected. You know the drill. I'll have this done soon enough."

He shut his eyes, counting back from twenty as Nolan tapped his equipment into his spinal cord. Five silent minutes passed by before he was allowed to get back up again. "How is it?"

"It's fast, but it hasn't reached anything alarming yet. Right now, the system infection is laying somewhere at the forty-eight percentile."

"And the memory lapses?"

"It's basically the virus rewiring your brain. The neurons look like they're taking themselves apart and rearranging the way in which they are connected. It has spread through your systems, but so far they've only been rearranging the nervous system. I can't say what else will change and how it will affect you yet."

"And what happens once it reaches complete reformation... or infection?"

Nolan looked sternly at the datapad readings. "Hard to say until it happens. Look, I just wanted to get this out and say that this isn't your fault, and I'm sorry for doubting you more than I should've."

Fredrick paused to glance while he was still putting back on his chestplate. "How so?"

"I was the one monitoring your condition while you were in stasis before I was reassigned to the fleet at the Citadel. Analyzing the virus and isolating it with various models and rigs from the time of your initial infection, no one else but anyone grown in those tubes when Delta Station still existed could've accepted the virus like you or Team Cobalt did. Even with the various updates, we didn't have the same preliminary firewalls or system limits that anyone natural born who had these installed did," Nolan continued.

"So, you're saying if one of the later generations had dismantled it, their bodies would've rejected the virus altogether?" Fredrick asked, completely suiting up.

"Exactly," Nolan confirmed. "And, speaking out right now, you weren't the only one who wanted to tear that thing in two. Lauren wanted to stomp on the thing, Henry wanted to squish it between his hands, and I wanted to cut it in half to make sure we were safe. Any one of us could've ended up in your shoes."

"Maybe it's better off if I did take this on alone. I'm not sure any of you would've lasted nearly as long as I have. Isn't it merely by chance that my body had developed internal-containment the way it did until the process was disrupted?"

"It was. Hey, maybe we could all share a beer at some point. What's your schedule like?" Nolan inquired as the two returned to the docking entrance of the dreadnought.

"I wish I could say, but I'm not sure. We're currently dealing with distributing a cure for the Genophage on Tuchanka to make sure the Krogans can give Palaven relief, but that's it. Maybe after that, we can all get together." The two former squadmates bid each other farewell before the medic departed.

* * *

 **May 28, 2186**

 **13 hrs/08 min/18 sec**

 **SSV _Normandy_ lab, still docked at the Citadel**

Fredrick had been working alongside Mordin in the lab making final touches. With tissue from both Wrex and Eve and some help with Maelon from his safety among Terran scientists, the two had managed to complete a safer synthesis of the treatment. The team would be returning to Tuchanka to distribute the treatment once their shore leave had ended and Linda had finished the lengthy list of errands she had to run for the galaxy. "Impressive," Fredrick muttered, looking over the treatment model under a microscope. "Spare me the details for now, but you've somehow managed to do it, you madman."

"Of course. Still, owe credit to Maelon. He helped introduce new perspectives and provided most of the work." After their visit to Tuchanka the year before, Mordin had extensively talked with his former protege, forcing himself to finally confront some inconvenient truths. He did have some lingering guilt, but it was the mission that finally broke the camel's back.

"It did work with Wrex, right?"

"Indeed. Signs of modifications made by Genophage not present. Same goes for Krogan guards. It will work."

"And the means of distribution?"

"A single environmental stabilization tower built before Krogan Rebellions. Known locally as the Shroud. Unfortunately, was sabotaged centuries before after aforementioned conflict. May prove difficult given numerous countermeasures. Also, dalatress will not be pleased."

"She can suck it. If she won't see reason, I'll ensure she does," the Terran reassured, before walking on to another table with dissected corpses. "Now, what of the Cerberus grunts? What happened to them?"

The Salarian walked alongside to explain. "Fate similar to captured Protheans. Initial stage similar to indoctrination. Cybernetic augmentation became widespread after your capture. Humans, while flexible fell short of needs. Augmentations used to compensate. Mental capacity almost gone, replaced by overworked sensory input transfers data to overlords," Mordin sighed with sadness.

"So, at their current stage, there's nothing we can do for them except put them out of their misery?" Fredrick prompted.

"Unfortunately. No glands, replaced by tech. No digestive systems, replaced by tech. No soul, replaced by tech. Whoever these people were, gone forever. No art, no culture, closer to husks than slaves. Humans may share Prothean fate should we fail. Tools for Reapers. Must be destroyed." After a few missions against what remained of Cerberus, the two were informed that the former pro-Humanity group had been capturing civilians to turn them into more soldiers via the supposed use of indoctrination. However, with further prodding on Solus' part, he'd shown more light on the subject and what the Harvesters had possibly planned.

"Harvesters and their strange obsession with crude soldiers. I should let you get back to work, Mordin."

* * *

 **13 hrs/12 min/49 sec  
**

 **Lower Wards, Zakera Ward, Citadel Station**

 _"I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite store on the Citadel."_ Garrus gave an annoyed glance at Linda as the two walked out of the weapons store.

"At least I regret making that decision," Linda hissed. Due to how short on funding they'd been on the mission against the Collectors, even with Cerberus support, she looked for every reason to earn herself a discount on some wares.

"That still doesn't change the fact you did it for every shop on this block," Garrus reminded, humming with amusement.

Before she could counter, her omnitool buzzed with an incoming call. "Hello?"

 _Commander Shepard? I'm Captain Nolan White of the Terran Naval Forces, and was the engineer on Müller's original team. I'm aware you're busy, but I feel that I should at least get this out before you leave the station._

"I understand, Captain," Linda acknowledged. "What's seems to be the problem?"

 _I performed a system check on him the day before, and the virus his systems retain is changing him at an alarming rate. I had brought this up with my superiors, and everyone who had looked at the data has come to an agreement. Watch Fredrick, and watch him closely. If anything comes up, send it to us. He's the only one with his given condition, and we don't know when he'll snap._

"Why? What's happening to him?" Linda inquired.

 _That virus of his has most recently been rewiring his brain, causing disruptions in some mental connections like memories,_ Nolan explained. _Be careful too. You know as well as I do that the man's nigh unstoppable once he gets started. Just be sure to keep us up to date._

"I understand Captain White." Linda ended the call without another word.

"What has he done now? Does this mean we'll have to kill him?" Garrus asked.

"I really hope it doesn't come to that."


	8. Chapter 8: Sins of the Future and Past

Chapter 8: Sins of the Future and Past

 _Was it really fair to keep the Krogan oppressed for so long? Was there no way to utilize the Genophage in a method that wouldn't have generated long-term hostilities between the warring factions of the Krogan Rebellions? As much as I wish it were otherwise, this is what chance and history have provided us: an all-or-nothing scenario. Still, this is why men and women like myself exist: to inevitably clean up the mess others make._

* * *

 **May 29, 2186**

 **09 hrs/24 min/31 sec**

 **Huerta Hospital, Citadel Station**

It was the end of their shore leave for a couple of weeks, and the _Normandy_ would ship off to Tuchanka in a couple more hours. Shepard had done everything she needed to do, purchased a few more pieces of hardware to upgrade the _Normandy_ 's systems, and sent out a role call to the crew to return to the ship at 1100 hours. Fortunately, that was enough time to make one more visit. "Hello, welcome to Huerta Hospital. How may I help you?" the receptionist greeted.

"I'm Colonel Müller of the Terran Armed Forces, and I was wishing to speak with Lieutenant Commander Williams," Fredrick answered.

"Of course. She's in room four-oh-four, second door to the right when you leave the elevator."

Quickly walking as directed, he was mindful of the package in his left hand. He had picked it up shortly after the system diagnostics he had received at the _Sokol_ , and wanted to deliver it before he left. Knocking in the door, he heard Ashley's muffled voice inside. "Hello?"

He walked in as he answered, "Just came in to say hello, Ash."

She smiled painfully back. "Hey Fred. I didn't expect to see you for a bit."

"Yeah, I was working up what to say when I came in. I heard you took quite a beating on Mars."

"I did, and I was in bad shape when I entered Huerta. I'm a few days out, but..." The left side of her had been facing out the window, keeping hidden her now mechanical limb. It was of Terran construction, was blue on its base with chrome touches all around, cumulating at a chrome Alliance symbol at her shoulder. "Some parts couldn't be repaired. At least we have something a little more in common, right?" Ashely chuckled, trying to dismiss the changes.

"Ashley, just because you now have bits of inorganic tissue helping you to live a normal life doesn't detract from who you are," Fredrick started, putting his hand on her stomach. "I still see you as a friend and... that reminds me, I've got a gift for you. I've been tangled with constant fighting these last few weeks, so I'm sorry if this came in a bit late."

He handed her a small, plain black box with a slightly leathery feel. "What's this?" she asked.

"Open it up, look inside." He watched as she gently pulled the lid off, and peeled off the black paper wrapping before she pulled out what he had printed at the _Sokol_. It was a Colt M1911 with the finish and fine details of what one would've expected from a modern firearm. "An M1911 designed and altered to accept thermal clips. Figured it'd be the best gift between marines."

Ashley let out good chuckle. "Ah, you glorious sonuvabitch. Thanks, Fred."

"No worries. Now get well, and we'll get back at kicking some Harvester ass. Hoorah?"

"Hoorah." She suddenly kissed him on the cheek as he stood up. "Try not to die out there, will you?"

He stumbled back as he stood up. "Er... yeah. I will."

* * *

 **14 hrs/11 min/17 sec**

 **Tuchanka low orbit, approaching the Shroud**

Departing the Citadel, the _Normandy_ departed for the Krogan homeworld with one goal in sight. As controversial as the decision was, it was needed if they would win the war and if the Krogan were to ever hope of surviving and being able to repopulate before they went into extinction due to the Genophage's effects. However, this was a very telegraphed move on their behalf, as it seemed numerous factions saw their move in play already. Linda entered the briefing room to see a projection of the battlefield surrounding the Shroud, the last functional environmental station on Tuchanka. "What've we got people?" she asked.

"New type of Reaper. Using Shroud to poison Tuchanka atmosphere. Problematic," Mordin answered. Wrex, Adrien, Mordin, Fredrick, and Linda looked on as a smaller variant made its approach on the tower. In relation to the more common model of Harvester, it was basically a destroyer if the normal model was considered a full-fledged battleship.

"They got a fight, and they just got one!" Wrex grumbled. "So what's the plan?"

"We'll have to draw that thing away from the tower, or keep it away as long as possible until we can deploy the Genophage cure," Fredrick explained. "It'd probably mean tossing a few troops in the chipper, but we don't have many options right now."

Linda simply rubbed the bridge of her nose with some annoyance. "Gentlemen, I know this is much to ask of your right now, but there's plenty that hinges on this mission's success right now. Primarch, we'll need Turian fighters to distract the thing from the air. Wrex, get your troops on the ground and provide the air some cover-fire."

"Yes. Distraction," Mordin agreed. "Small team can reach Shroud facility, finish synthesizing cure. Will need Eve to come with us."

Linda continued to shift uncomfortably before straightening up. "We've never faced a Reaper in close quarters before. Is everyone on board for this?"

Wrex was especially riled. "Is there even a doubt? Let's move! It's time for this to end!"

The group began to file out when Samantha, the ship coms officer informed the commander over the intercom, _"Commander, incoming message marked urgent. I'll put it in the coms room for you."_

Overhearing the exchange, Fredrick decided to follow close behind her as she walked to the opposite side of the chamber. Keeping out of range of the image capture, he saw the Dalatress as she projected herself before Linda. "Dalatress?"

 _Commander Shepard, we know you've reached Tuchanka,_ she greeted bitterly in return. _By now, I imagine Mordin Solus has proposed using the Shroud._

Keeping back her angry growl, Linda asked again, "Are you spying on us?"

 _Hardly. The Shroud is the only viable course of action for you,_ the Dalatress continued to scoff. _Commander, you can't let your misguided sympathy for the Krogan cloud your judgement. Do you honestly believe curing the Genophage will result in lasting peace?_

Fredrick could barely hold himself back, now that he was forced to throw his hat into the ring. Stepping forward, he argued, "And do you honestly believe condemning them to a slow, painful extinction will not result in further destruction? Especially after this war when we're _all_ vulnerable?!"

Quickly ignoring the Terran's presence, the Dalatress reiterated, _The Krogan will reproduce out of control!_

"And the Krogan would quickly go into extinction due to how unsupportable their population count will be once this is all over!"

"Enough, you two!" Linda interrupted. "What is it you want, Dalatress?"

 _Years ago, our operatives sabotaged the Shroud to ensure what you're doing wouldn't be possible,_ the Salarian leader started. _Mordin will likely find and repair this. If you ensure he doesn't make the changes, the cure's viability will be changed just enough to ensure the cure's viability will be altered enough to ensure the cure fails. No one will notice the change._

Linda fought to keep her negotiable tone. "Mordin wouldn't stand for this," Linda reminded.

 _How you handle him is up to you,_ the Dalatress continued. _We can provide you the scientists needed to finish the Crucible and the full support of our fleets._

How dare this bitch suggest throwing another under the bus. "So that's it? You can't have your way, so you get to condemn the rest of us and yourselves to damnation?! You're going to continue through this fucking war kicking and screaming because one extra race gets to survive to see the outcome and beyond?!" Fredrick barked.

 _And what alternative do you suggest, colonel?_

"Whatever the hell happened to 'ambassadors first, soldiers second'? Nevermind this bullshit. I've heard enough from you." Fredrick sharply turned and stomped out of the room before he could hear anything else from the Salarian leader.

* * *

 **15 hrs/31 min/20 sec**

 **Tuchanka, approaching groundside via shuttle**

"I've ordered the clans to assemble at the Hollows, our most sacred meeting grounds," Wrex informed the others. "We'll land there and take an armored convoy to the Shroud. This will be the defining moment in Krogan history." Wrex himself felt scared, as the last sentence was barely audible above a whisper.

"Krogan history full of defining moments. Most bloody. Hope this one will be better," Mordin quipped in a vain attempt to raise moral before they went in.

Fredrick's eyes shifted nervously between Shepard, Garrus, Kaidan, Wrex, Eve, and Mordin. These were the poor souls he went in with. He was already trying to guess which one they would leave without. "Commander, you seem tense. Is everything alright?" Eve was the first to break the silence.

"I received a message from-" Linda explained before being violently interrupted by the shuttle suddenly shaking.

A gravelly voice came over Wrex's suit intercom. _"Wrex, this is Wreav! The Reapers are already at the Hollows! Come in guns blazing!"_

The away team quickly stood up from their seats as the shuttle came to a landing zone. The moment the shuttle doors opened, the group was greeted by a lone husk before it was suddenly blown away by Wrex. "Shepard! Keep them away from the female! I'll sort out what's going on with the rest of the clans!"

While Wrex ran off, the others took to formation with Eve right behind them. "Could I at least have a weapon to defend myself?" she demanded.

Fredrick quickly took out his own sidearm and handed it to the Krogan. "Here. Let me know when you're low, and I'll swap batteries with you."

The situation was grim as they advanced into a massive chamber. The Krogan were holding, but the sheer number of husks and other synthesized forms were making the battle increasingly difficult. Regardless, it was merely husks, and the steady flow of Krogan warriors back into the room, helping to push the Harvesters forces out. One of the undead came within clawing range, but Fredrick simply caught it's first arm, caught the other as it swung at him again to get him off, before having both arms ripped off, sending it flopping onto the floor.

With the husks and corrupted successfully repelled, victorious cries from Krogan soldiers filled the ancient halls. From across the symmetrical room, another door opened up, with Wrex and Mordin entering with a group of the Krogan leaders. "Hah! They'll sing battle-songs about this someday. Reaper blood has finally soaked our soil!" On the balcony above, other Krogans joined in as a few tossed the broken remains of enemy soldiers far below.

"Who's the Salarian? No one mentioned this!" Another Krogan walked into the room with another pack of Krogan behind him.

"He's here to help cure the Genophage, Wreav," Wrex spat.

Fredrick could tell the two were at least partially related. Genetics aside, they bore similar clan markings, were roughly the same height and bone formation with the main visual difference being coloration. Wreav's plates were a darker shade of maroon, but the skin in between was much paler in comparison. "In case your illustrious ideologies have caused you to forget, they gave us the Genophage! Why should we trust him?"

Wreav stomped towards Mordin, shoving aside others in his path before Wrex sharply head butted him. "Because I trust him. And if you'd take the time to pull your hump out of your ass, you would too. Now can it with your traditionalist bullshit."

The various Krogan began to growl amongst each other, muttering curses and other forms of spite. Wreav was about to land a blow on Wrex's crest when Eve shot the former in the shouldblade, silencing the crowd. She walked into the open from behind the others, handing Fredrick his pistol while barking, "Enough! You can stay here and let old wounds fester like Krogan have always done... Or you can fight the enemy you were born to fight and win the next generation a future. I choose to fight and so should the rest of you!"

The silence stood for a few seconds before Wrex stood alongside Eve. "She's right. My concern isn't the Reapers, we have that covered. My worries lie in our ability to climb out of the ashes once all is said and done. There's a Reaper that needs killing and it's the one thing that stands between us now and our children's safety!" The speech among the two Krogan managed to spark growls and grunts of agreement from the crowd.

Wreav simply looked for several moments, contemplating what the two said and how the crowds reacted. Nodding in affirmation, Wreav stated, "And so it is. Onward, brothers! Let's make this count!"

* * *

 **16 hrs/03 min/46 sec**

 **En route to the Shroud, Tuchanka**

Fredrick watched from the windows as the convoy of Krogan APCs traversed the rough terrain. Shepard, on the other hand, was on the horn with a small attachment of Turian air forces. "Copy that, Artimec. We're on our way, trying to making up for lost time. Shepard out."

Eve and Wrex continued to discuss the politics of the Krogan. "Wreve isn't the only one who wants revenge for the Genophage. You'll have to placate them somehow," the former mentioned.

"I'll vouch the council return some of our older territories. We'll need room to expand, maybe recapture the glory of the ancients," Wrex replied.

"'Glory of ancients' led to Krogan Rebellions. Creation of Genophage. Expansion... problematic," Mordin commented.

"What were the ancient Krogan like, Wrex?" Kaidan asked. "You mentioned them quite frequently back on the SR-1 during down-time."

"Once upon a time, Tuchanka wasn't a wasteland," Eve explained. "We were a proud people and had a future."

"I'm sensing a catch, here," Garrus added.

Eve sighed as she looked out the window into the Tuchanka wastes. "We got complacent. Technology made life to easy. We turned on ourselves in an adrenaline-rush to find challenge and we nuked ourselves back to the stone age."

"I'm inclined to agree with Wrex," Fredrick injected. "An irradiated planet like Tuchanka isn't much to terraform from. Besides, it wouldn't be the worst thing if the Krogan had to start from scratch, away from this rock. There already plenty of vast uninhabited worlds in this galaxy, and it will only be emptier once we're finished mourning our dead."

Wrex simply smiled at him. "See? He has the right idea. Hell, I hope you don't mind if I ask you to speak on our behalf, Fred. It just sounds better coming from you."

"Commander, on the shuttle earlier... you were saying something?" Eve asked.

Linda sighed as she pulled out her omnitool and replayed the audio from the discussion earlier. "I got a message from the Dalatress. She wanted us to sabotage the cure. Furthermore, the Shroud was sabotaged some time ago by the STG to prevent the distribution of such a cure. We'll have to fix it before it'll work."

Wrex didn't look so enraged as he did look passively annoyed. "Aaaaaand she didn't think we'd know better?"

"Correctly," Mordin answered. "Would likely have fooled tests. However, am familiar with STG work. Can adjust. Won't come this far for nothing."

"If it's any consolation, I told her to shove it up her ugly ass," Fredrick informed. The vehicle came to a sharp halt, cutting off any further conversation. "Ugh, fucking Christ. What now?"

Shepard's squad exited their APC to investigate the damage done to the bridge they were on. The convoy had come to a halt as a result, and there was no way the vehicles could make it off or around. The delay meant that the pilots had arrived at the Harvester before they could, resulting in the Turian flight division getting cut in half by the time they had to pull out. A stray fighter crashed into the convoy, easily taking out half of the available vehicles. _Shepard! What's going on out there?_ Wrex yelled.

"Wrex! Go! Get the female out of here!" Linda barked, getting back to her feet. Leading the others into a road-side tunnel, the four made it off the highway. Rushing into the tunnel as the entrance crumbled behind them, Shepard quickly called back to the APC again. "We made it Wrex, are you alright?"

 _Yeah, a few scratches. Nothing we can't handle. A few others from the caravan made it off too,_ Wrex answered.

The team began their long trek down a set of dusty, ancient stairs. "The Turians had to call off their airstrike. We'll need a new plan for dealing with that Reaper."

 _First, try and make your way to us. Where are you, even?_

"We're underground in some sort of ruins. Think you could provide us directions?"

Eve suddenly entered the call when she explained, _Commander, that's the city of the ancients. They've been abandoned for some time, as have any records depicting the structure layouts. You'll have to find your own way out._

 _You guys are trailblazers. I doubt those dusty heaps can't keep you contained for long. This cure must be distributed. Now get out of there, I have an idea about how to get rid of the Reaper,_ Wrex told with encouragement one last time before coms were cut.

"No point in moping around about our current situation, now come on. Let's go," Fredrick encouraged, taking point. His vision quickly adjusted to the darkness, giving him a slight advantage the others didn't the way through the catacombs wasn't so much of a problem as was not worrying about the increasing strength of quakes they experienced. "Wrex, we're picking up increased seismic activity down here. You picking up any topside?"

 _It's Kalros: the mother of all Thresher Maws. Rumors say she lives in this region,_ Eve answered.

"Yeah, the moment the _Krogan_ of all people give something like a Thresher Maw a name is when we're all in real trouble," Kaidan added.

"Wrex, talk to me," Linda demanded. "How big are we talking here?"

 _Almost three kilometers in length._

"Fun. I doubt... well, what have we here? A part of Tuchanka that isn't rubble for once," Garrus grumbled. Quickly enough, the four found their way back to the surface into a surprisingly intact part of the ruins. There were even traces of greenery nearby.

"Wrex, we're back on the surface," Shepard said, turning on coms again.

 _Good. If you're seeing sunlight, that's a start._

Fredrick had never heard of any sort of remaining foliage on Tuchanka. "And foliage? I didn't think this would be remotely possible today."

Eve once again stood up as the more informative individual on the history of Tuchanka. _You're looking at hope. The last you'll ever find on Tuchanka. This was a world of beauty. Give it a chance, it could be again._

 _Guys, that Reaper is still up to no good at the Shroud. Find a way out there and we'll pick you up,_ Wrex reminded.

* * *

 **17 hrs/41 min/10 sec**

Shepard and her team managed to climb out of the ancient ruins, leaving them in plain view for the rest of the caravan to see them. _Shepard! Get in here, quick! Everyone else, keep an eye out for that maw! Don't let it sneak up on us!_ The APC came to a halt, and Wrex came out to greet them at the entrance hatch. "Move it! We're exposed!"

As Fredrick climbed down, he noticed an explosion within the ground below behind Wrex. _Shit! It's Kalros! Get back! Get back!_ Wreav ordered over the coms.

Over the hill, the hide of what had possibly been the biggest Thresher Maw he'd ever seen reared its ugly head as it went straight for the other APCs. Its body was easily thirty four meters in diameter, and Wrex wasn't kidding when he estimated almost three kilometers in length. Diving into the other APCs, it took most of them down within its jaws in a single hit, leaving the others to fall into the hole it created going back down shortly after. "We're in! Let's go!" Linda ordered. Wrex shut the hatch while Mordin put the pedal to the metal.

"What about Wreav?" Eve asked.

"Gone," Wrex hastily answered. "As is the rest of the armored caravan. Besides, he was a pain in the ass. Now let's finish this. There's still a Reaper waiting for us."

The drive was quiet amongst those inside the vehicle's cabin. No jokes were to be made, no quips, and no one bothered to ask what the new plan was. They simply took time to contemplate how they were still alive, and nothing more. As they hopped out of the truck not one kilometer away from the Shroud, the group exited the APC to look at the Destroyer-class Reaper that stood before them. "I don't think we have a big enough gun to handle that," Garrus quipped.

"Fredrick's part-Reaper. Couldn't he take it down?" Wrex sarcastically asked.

"That doesn't mean I've spontaneously grown a giant particle cannon, Wrex," Fredrick shot back.

" _*tst*_ Shame. Still, we're curing the Genophage no matter what it takes. Everything my people could ever be depends on it!"

Linda jumped out of the vehicle as she told Wrex, "Then I hope this idea of yours is a good one."

Wrex turned to the others, rubbing his hands nervously before gesturing to Eve. "It was _hers_... actually."

"Kalros," she hissed. "We summon her to the Reaper."

"If you had mentioned that earlier, we could've baited the thing to the Reaper when we still had the chance," Fredrick replied. "Still, better than nothing."

Shepard raised a brow. "I've taken some risks over the past, but this is crazy."

"And taking down Sovereign... er, Nazara? Whatever. Taking down that one Reaper wasn't?" Wrex reminded, glancing out of his peripheral vision at Fred. "It's our best shot at getting to the tower."

"There are two enormous maw hammers inside this temple," Eve explained. "They were initially built by the Salarians to keep away intruders. For the Krogan, it was an arena to honor the glory of Kalros. Activate them and Kalros will come."

Mordin got off his omnitool and pulled off a small case from his back. "Should work in theory. In meantime, found nearby lab. Will finish synthesizing cure with Eve."

"It's crazy, but it's what I've come to expect from this," Kaidan agreed.

"Good. Let's make sure we all get out of here alive. We're going to have some great stories to tell," Linda ordered.

"Thanks, gents," Wrex returned. "You've done plenty for Clan Urdnot, and are champions to the Krogan people. Hell, I'd gladly refer to any of you guys as family. Now, get going. We don't have much time."

As each departed to their own end, Wrex saw a group of undead Rachni climb over the hill, charging them head on. Climbing into the main courtyard, the path to the Shroud was blocked by debris, leaving them to fight more cannibals and infectors. Fredrick tossed a warp at one of the infectors, disintegrating it. "Mordin, you'd better hurry with that cure!"

 _In great luck! Found original strain in storage! Synthesizing now!_ Mordin acknowledged over coms.

"Well it's about damn time life threw us a bone!" Kaidan exclaimed.

Wrex shortly after spoke over the coms. _Shepard, this is Wrex. I've dealt with the ravagers out here, but I'll be heading to the temple lower levels to raise the thumpers. Can't use them when they're still down._

Moving forward, the group climbed up several steps along one side of the temple to get around the debris below. Making their way over a bridge, the group were left in open view in front of the Harvester. In response, it shot a particle beam clean through the bridge, sending the group falling down below. They were now on the other side and had access to the arena with the Kalros thumpers, but they also had the full attention of the Destroyer. "Get to cover!"

 _Shepard, I see you up there! The thumpers should be accessible to you now! Get to them and turn them on!_ Wrex barked as two metallic pillars rose on either side of an arena before the Harvester.

"Thanks Wrex. Guys, go for the thumpers. I want to see how much they still hate me," Fredrick told as he holstered his rifle. Rolling from cover to cover, the group closed the distance between themselves and the coliseum with Müller getting noticeable attention from the enemy particle beam. Entering the arena area, three pods were shot down from the Harvester, revealing three brutes. "Same rules apply. They want me dead more than you, Shepard. Go activate the thumpers, I'll handle the opposition to the best of my ability."

Garrus, Kaidan, and Linda continued to their objective, while Fredrick danced around the brutes, unleashing biotic attacks while simultaneously avoiding the feet of the enemy. Successfully causing the Harvester to stomp on one of its own, he followed up with a consecutive biotic charge, puncturing clean though the chest of the second, leaving one remaining. The third had managed to knock him down and was about to connect a blow when Garrus shot its head clean off from the second thumper.

Like the hiss of a strong wind, a loud howl rung out from the distance. Turning to investigate, the Harvester looked towards the source of the sound. No sooner had it turned, Kalros peaked over the sand dunes like a dolphin, diving underground again as the destroyer-class attempted to retaliate. Coming underneath the Harvester, Kalros wrapped itself around it, thrashing about like a python strangling its prey. Amidst the chaos, the destroyer fired its particle beam numerous times, hitting the Shroud at least once before being pulled underground. They continued to the base of the tower uninterrupted.

The base of the Shroud clearly took on Salarian architecture with its layered design leading to the tower. The squad entered a small courtyard that more resembled a control room than something of artistic design. Mordin exited from a lab near the other side of the room. At the far end was an elevator that climbed up the almost pyramidal tower. Explosions and fires began to cover the structure as a result of the last bit of damage the Harvester had done before being incapacitated by Kalros. "Mordin, is the cure ready?" Shepard inquired over the roar of another explosion.

"Yes! Cure loaded to disperse in two minutes. Experience traumatic for Eve, but not lethal. Maelon's research invaluable," Mordin sputtered, typing at a console like the madman he was. "Headed to safety now. Her survival fortunate. Should stabilize government should Wrex get any ideas. Good match, promising future to Krogan."

A piece of the tower fell and crashed only a few meters from where they stood. "Spirits! This place won't hold!" Garrus exclaimed.

"Control room at top of Shroud tower. Will take elevator up. Need to work around STG sabotage," Mordin added.

Kaidan wasn't as used to the Salarian's crazed tendencies. "You can't really be considering going up there! The damn place is coming apart!"

"No time! Have to counter STG sabotage! No time to adjust to temperature variance! Suggest you fall back, explosion problematic. Besides, have to do it. My project. My cure. My repsonsibility." Mordin was really dedicated to meeting his fate.

"Mordin, at least you could have me up there," Fredrick interrupted. "I could still get us to safety if we had to jump down."

The group paused one more time, before Linda turned to get the others to safety. "I wish it didn't have to come down to this," she started. "I'm sorry, guys."

"We're not," Fredrick replied.

"Had to be us. Someone else might've gotten it wrong," Mordin quipped before the elevator doors closed. The two watched as the three remaining squad members ran into the distance through the glass as the elevator climbed higher and higher. The two watched as they were carried higher and higher with an ever-growing view of the Tuchanka wastelands. Entering the top chamber in the tower, the two were greeted by blaring alarms, flames all around them, and a red holographic display, with an AI repeating the same warning about temperature malfunctions.

Rushing over to the console with Fredrick to keep him safe from explosions, Mordin quickly got to work finalizing the necessary procedures. He hummed one more tune under his breath as he made a few more changes. _"Temperature within acceptable range. Dispersal commencing,"_ the VI chimed. The two looked above to see waves of white flowing into the wind just below where they stood.

Fredrick expected an answer as the he looked once again at the holographic projection. "Is it working?"

"Yes! It's working! We did it!" Mordin cheered.

"Good! Let's go!" Grabbing the doctor in his hands, he shoved himself backwards out the window mere seconds before the room was consumed in fire. The violent explosion blew clean through his barriers, causing a concussion and leaving the two disoriented. The dull ringing left him deaf and his vision uncoordinated as he attempted to find where Mordin was after he had been tossed from his grasp. As the ringing stopped and his vision cleared, Fredrick could only look in horror as Mordin was at least ten meters away from him, they had already fallen below the hundred meter safety zone for paratroopers, and his biotics were still unprepared to break their fall.

Quickly pulling Mordin towards him, he struggled to slow them down as they entered fifty meters from the ground. Looking at him fearfully, Fredrick quickly yelled, "Solus! Hang on!" He surrounded both with his nanites and kept his back to the ground before shutting his eyes and accepting his possible fate.

It hurt, but only for a second.

His head throbbed, his ears rang, his body refused to respond, and his eyes could once again not focus on what was less than a meter away from him.

Mordin stood over him, attempting to call his name. He closed his eyes painfully, feeling his helmet being tugged off. _"I am not dying on this godforsaken rock."_

 _ **"Hahahahaha! A tale told all too many times by Human folklore..."**_

 _"I'm not letting these fuckers beat me."_

 _ **"The mere mortal who flew too close to the heavens, tossed down in flames for his hubris..."**_

 _"I'm getting the fuck out of here, even if it means dragging myself to the nearest medical station by my lips. Three. Two. One."_ His eyes shot open as he found himself in the _Normandy_ medbay. _"What the hell?"_

Fredrick swung his legs over the side of the medical bed to find his helmet on his footlocker. He still wore his armor, but had a few IV tubes feeding into his neck. He stumbled to his feet, wondering what happened. He pulled out his omnitool to see what time it was.

 **June 12, 2186**

 **09 hrs/58 min/38 sec**

 **SSV _Normandy_ , en route to the Widow Nebula**

The medbay doors hissed open as Linda and Mordin walked in, the latter with a datapad and explaining something to the former. "Ah! Müller! Good to see you're awake! Managed to accomplish impossible! Genophage treated! Much to Dalatress spite," the Salarian exclaimed with a chuckle.

He groaned painfully as he walked over. "I think I might have another memory laps. What did I do in the last couple weeks again?"

Linda raised a brow. "What are you talking about? You've been nothing more than a vegetable ever since Mordin dragged you away from what was left of the Shroud," she asked as she crossed her arms.

"Ah, no need to panic, colonel. You had for the most survived with not that many lacerations and fractures, all of which your implants saw to you would recover from," Mordin explained. "However, scannings did show something rather peculiar happening to your body."

"Peculiar? How so?" Fredrick asked. He continued to stretch in place, releasing the tension in his muscles.

"It's strange, but it looked like during your repairs, that your DNA slightly revised itself over the course of your recovery. I can't say what the major differences are yet. Will have to report to your superiors eventually."

"That won't be a problem. In the mean time, allow me to revise my original question: what did I miss?"

"Went to Omega and helped Aria retake the station from Cerberus, fended off more Cerberus attacks on various fronts, and helped to clear the war room now that Wrex and the Primarch are off the ship. Wrex is now gathering the clans and directing help to Palaven, and the Primarch has now offered full support and technical help with the Crucible," Shepard answered. "In short, you didn't miss much."

"Right. I should probably show you guys where the emergency latches are on my armor next time. I'll be ready for what's next, but I could use a shower."

"Might want to save it. We're heading back to the Citadel in response to a distress call. Cerberus has finally made a big move."

"What? Ah, dammit!"

"Indeed, situation most dire. Can't let this happen," Mordin added. "Will be arriving at Citadel shortly. Oh, and Fredrick?" He paused to inhale as he left the medbay. "Thank you. I don't know why you chose to and I deserve much less, but I'm grateful for your decision to stay with me."


	9. Chapter 9: Coup D'état

Chapter 9: Coup D'état

 _Should I have killed Harper back then? Would I have known he would've caused as much damage as he had during this war? Would I have still been able to help evade Shepard's death, or revive her should she have fallen regardless? Perhaps I should've accepted the offer to help create Cerberus, guide it down a path that wouldn't have resulted in this mess. Then again, this is the same line of thought that caused the likes of Matriarch T'soni to fall to Nazara's wrath._

* * *

 **June 12, 2186**

 **012 hrs/37 min/28 sec**

 **SSV _Normandy_ bridge, approaching the Citadel Station**

He watched painfully from his seat as the various naval forces around the Citadel were engaged with Cerberus vessels around the station. "Hey, Thane! You still on this frequency? Come in!" Joker yelled over the coms as Shepard approached him from behind in full armor.

Linda sighed with disbelief. "Any luck?"

The audio pick-up crackled with life as a familiar, raspy voice came through. _"Shepard, it's good to see you've arrived. Cerberus has control of the docks and C-Sec HQ, and they've got troops swarming over the station."_

"Are you safe, Thane?" Linda asked.

 _"No. I had to evade their troops at Huerta. I'm in a Presidium storefront right now. I barely made it out with Lieutenant-Commander Williams. Unfortunately, we got separated. She said she needed to protect the Council,"_ Thane replied. _"Right now, I'm heading to C-Sec HQ to clear out the Cerberus presence. As long as they have their headquarters, Citadel defenses will be in disarray."_

"We retake the C-Sec headquarters, we thwart the attack. Got it," Linda acknowledged. "We'll be heading out in the shuttle and making for C-Sec. Tell the away team to meet me at the hanger."

Garrus, Javik, Fredrick, EDI, and James already stood at the cargo hold area, loading their weapons and making final equipment checks. "Shit, didn't think that Cerberus would hit this hard and this deep into friendly territory," James sighed as he stepped foot into the shuttle.

"This time, you are lucky," Javik stated. "In my cycle, we learned from the worst case scenario that the Citadel is not the safest location in a war like this."

Linda was last onto the shuttle before the door closed and the vehicle took off. "We'll be heading into C-Sec HQ to clear out the Cerberus presence there, give local defenses a chance to coordinate their attacks. Garrus, you still remember the inside of the building?"

"Well enough. I hope not too many familiar faces there are down for the count yet," Garrus sighed as he loaded armor-piercing rounds into his rifle.

Fredrick didn't get the opportunity to pick up another MG-15, opting to instead utilize an Alliance-made LMG. It greatly resembled an M60 utilized by the USMC from the mid-to-late Twentieth Century. However, he did have to rely on thermal clips for the weapon. "Still, it's a brash move by Cerberus. Unless they really picked up their numbers after we finished off the Collectors last year, it seems improbable that they could've taken the Citadel on such short notice."

"Maybe they got that miniature Mass Relay on Ilos to work again?" Kaidan suggested. "It'd explain a lot if that's how they managed to get so many troops past."

"Possibly," EDI commented. "However, I theorized that due to numerous compiled simulations that the best chance for success in an attack like this would've been the gradual smuggling of Cerberus personnel, equipment, and weapons onto the station some time prior."

"I'll have a talk with the council afterwards," Linda said, looking out the shuttle window. They flew over the Presidium, with sights of C-Sec officers desperately fighting off Cerberus soldiers down below. Entering the vehicle entrance to the headquarters, the shuttle doors opened to display the number of overwhelming Cerberus troops whittling down pockets of C-Sec at the landing platform. "Okay, people! We're coming in hot! Get to cover!"

The others fanned out to other positions behind crates, narrowly dodging enemy fire. Initiating his nanite shield, Fredrick walked out of cover and began making short work with his heavy weapon. He heard the murky sound of thermal round ricochets off the black crystal barrier as he made his advance. The weapon had an attached ammo box which would automatically fed in another thermal clip into the firing mechanism. Two-thirds of the way through enemy forces, he suddenly realized how calm his breathing was. For how much bioelectric energy he was expending towards resisting the heavy recoil and maintaining the shield, he was oddly experiencing minimal energy draining.

Continuing to clear the remaining resistance, the group found found a squad of heavily injured C-Sec officers, Captain Bailey included. "Shepard! Boy, are you a sight for sore eyes!" he breathed, clinging to his bleeding side.

As Fredrick tended to their wounds, Shepard returned the favor and asked, "Bailey! What are you doing here?"

"Trying to retake HQ. Cerberus took it with their first push, and we're flying blind without the network. We gotta kick them out of there!" The captain painfully grunted as Fredrick helped him to his feet.

"Fun. I assume the council is KIA too?" the Terran asked.

"They split up. We'll know more once I regain control inside. Getting back in shouldn't be a problem now that I won't be interrupted by gunfire," Bailey painfully chuckled. The group walked into the front lobby, cautiously sweeping the area for Cerberus forces as the officers painfully limped in behind. Bailey quickly logged in as he groaned, "Cerberus has control of the main channels, but I can set up a new one. We'll... what the...?"

"What is it?" Garrus asked, looking over from down his scope.

"A warning from Councilor Valern. He was supposed to meet the executor here hours earlier." Bailey squinted as he read the message. "'Be on guard. There's a mole.' Nothing else. You might want to hurry, he's still inside."

This drew both Kaidan and Linda's attention. "Doesn't a meeting with the executor mean someone's getting prosecuted?" Kaidan asked.

"Looks like this mole had been found they're getting the boot and called their friends at Cerberus for help. He might still be at the Executor's office. Vakarian, you know C-Sec com protocols. I'll be calling you if we find anything."

Shepard gestured to the others to follow her, leaving the C-Sec officers behind. "Thane, we're sending you our coordinates. We've got a mole on the Citadel, so be careful."

 _Understood. I'm trying to get there as quickly as possible. It's hard to get around with all these sharpshooters present. Out,_ Thane quickly answered.

The sights became increasingly disturbing as the team fought further and further into C-Sec headquarters. Along with entrenched Cerberus troopers of various classes, they found dead C-Sec officers with shots to the back of the head, suggesting the possibility of yet more Cerberus sleeper agents working on the Citadel. The walls were charred and riddled with gunfire, officer corpses cluttered the hallways, windows were broken, electronics were left hanging and damaged, and the fire alarms blared rampantly. Arriving at the executor's office, they found little more than three dead men: two Salarians and a man in fancy dress.

"Baily, nothing here but dead guards and what's left of the executor," Garrus sighed.

 _Dammit! Keep looking, he can't have gone far!_

"Never mind, we found him." Garrus peered out the office window to see the Salarian councilor below decloak and rise up from behind cover down in the lobby.

 _Good. Now hurry and get him somewhere safe._

The group turned and was about to leave, when Linda peered out the window to see Couniclor Valern facing off against a Cerberus soldier in assassin wear. He was of Chinese decent with long hair and a small visor where his eyes used to be. She quickly shot out the window and jumped down as the assassin jumped over the councilor to putting the couniclor between himself and Shepard. "Leng. It's been a while," Shepard hissed.

Kai Leng smiled as he leveled a hand of biotic energy at the councilor. "I see you're doing well, Linda. You'd be winning more often against the Reapers if you hadn't left."

Valern simply whimpered fearfully. "Shepard! He's going to kill us all!"

Fredrick suddenly decloaked in front of Leng, with Valern hugged snuggly against his back. He distinctly remembered the young Cerberus operative from when he handed off the nanite glands to Miranda. "Ah, Dumb Kid, we meet again."

"I've seen my capabilities double since we last met, Old Man," Kai grumbled as he watched Fredrick step backwards with the councilor.

"Zero multiplied by two still equals zero, child."

"I mean Udina!" Valern corrected. "He staged this coup! He's got the other councilors and will hand them over to Cerberus!"

Shortly after, the others in the squad filed into the room. "On your knees and hands behind your head, Leng. It's six against one."

Kai kept his malicious smile. "No, this is getting fun."

His smile shriveled as he heard Thane stand up behind him, the Drell leveling his gun with the back of his head. Turning sharply to begin fighting, he knocked the gun away before both men began to bash each other with a mix of punches and blocks. "Müller! Get Valern to safety! We'll cover you!"

Fredrick ran off with the Councilor in his arms to the front lobby as the sound of gunshots and blades clashing faded into the background. "Colonel, where are we going?"

"A squad of C-Sec officers towards the front lobby of the HQ. They can keep you safe," Fredrick hastily answered. His eyes shot back and forth, looking for hostiles under cloak.

The two continued until they were in sight of Baily and his officers. "Councilor! Are you hurt?"

"I'm alright. Are you making an attempt to regroup?" Valern inquired.

"We've got coms up and going. We'll have reinforcements shortly. We can take care of him from here, colonel. Thanks for your help." Fredrick quickly rushed back the way he came to where Thane was fighting Leng. Reentering the lobby, the others were nowhere to be seen at first until he turned to look down a set of stairs. The group were out on a platform with Linda, Garrus, Javik, and James getting into a skycar, while Kaidan was left to tend to a now heavily bleeding Thane.

"Fredrick! Hurry over here! Thane's been hit!" Kaidan called as the skycar left.

He ran over and quickly applied nanites to a deep gash in Thane's stomach. "What happened?"

"It was Leng. He stabbed him through the stomach with a sword before he ran off to pursue the rest of the council. Help me get him back to Bailey. We'll regroup with them on a shuttle pad further down in the Presidium."

"Fuck. Don't worry Thane, you're stable. However, I'm not letting you fight any further. We'll get you to safety and continue our mission." Both men carried the injured Drell assassin with one arm over each of their shoulders.

Bailey was still in the middle of a call when they had arrived, this time he had significantly more officers present. "...Someone's following them. With a sword? Ah hell, back so soon, colonel?"

The two put Thane down on a chair in the lobby. "His wound has sealed for now, but he'll need medical attention ASAP in case anything is still wrong," Kaidan informed. "In the mean time, are there any other police cruisers you can spare us?"

"Sorry gents, with operations back up, we need every functional resource we still have. You'll have to make it there on foot, or make your own approach. If it's any consolation, I won't charge you two for theft of a vehicle."

The two men gave each other a glance before rushing outside to the front of the headquarters for a civilian vehicle to hijack. Suddenly, they both flinched when their coms began to crackle with static. "Hello? Shepard, is that you?"

 _Where are you two going?_

Both were skeptical, especially Fredrick. "Who are you, and what's it matter to you?"

 _I'm the one with the transportation. I'm setting down now._ An unmarked shuttle came into view and landed on a platform nearby. Fredrick and Kaidan rushed up to meet the crew as the doors opened, revealing Liara and her Swords of Atheme. "Alenko, Müller, it's good to see you two again."

"Liara, damn good timing," Kaidan returned. "How's 'employment' with the Shadow Broker?"

"Scattered. Fortunately, I haven't wasted time in preparing for this war. So, how close would you prefer we got you to the council?" Liara sighed with mild annoyance.

"Bailey gave me coordinates, how hurry. Get us on the same level, but give us some distance for approach. Udina's the traitor and we don't want to set him off yet. Right?" Kaidan looked for an assuring look from Fredrick.

The shuttle doors closed behind them as Liara looked to the vehicle cockpit. "Get us to these coordinates, ASAP. Drop those two nearby."

Flying relatively low to the ground, the two could see out the window as C-Sec was finally making a come-back. Fredrick turned away to ask, "Liara, you have access to Udina's messages, right? Can you find anything?"

"Just messages about providing support for Earth from Cerberus. A foolish proposition, considering Earth has been the epicenter for this invasion," she answered, effortlessly bringing up the replacement Human councilor's messages on her omnitool.

"Foolish indeed. Considering the stretch of your vision now, any possibility that Harper is indoctrinated?" Kaidan inquired in turn.

"Considering how counterproductive all of their recent actions have been to accomplishing whatever their end-goals have been, I wouldn't be surprised. We're coming up on the drop site. Get ready. I'll see you two back on the _Normandy_." The shuttle sharply jerked upwards before leveling again as the shuttle doors opened onto the balcony of some luxurious apartment. Exiting, the two could see a damaged Alliance shuttle in the distance on a platform one level below.

Kaidan drew his weapon as the two broke into the apartment to find a way to the ledge. "Right, what's the plan?"

"Get over there, intervene with the exchange if Shepard hasn't done so already. You might want to stick to a vantage point if shit hits the fan, provide support." The two wove through the abandoned apartments until they found an open area overlooking the landing pad. They crouched down as they heard the doors below open up followed by a Sparatus, Tevos, Udina, and Ashley rushing out. Like Kaidan, she was wearing blue armor with white stripes with the Specter logo on the shoulder pads, and still had some minor scarring on her neck.

She grumbled audibly before ordering, "Cerberus took out the shuttle. Everyone back to the elevators. Move!"

From the same door, Shepard, Garrus, Javik, and Vega exited with weapons drawn, and Garrus sabotaging the lock behind them. As Udina sharply accused Linda of 'still' being with Cerberus, Fredrick gestured to Kaidan before he cloaked and jumped down, trying to circle around Udina. Trying to play it safe, Linda told her team to stand down in an attempt to defuse the situation. "Udina is behind this attack, the Salarian councilor confirmed it."

"Please, you have no proof! You never do!" Udina spat.

"There were Cerberus soldiers on the elevator behind us. You open that door, they _will_ kill you all."

Fortunately, Tevos did act in Shepard's favor. "We did mistrust Shepard before, and it certainly didn't help."

"We don't have time to debate this. We're dead if we stay out here. I'm overriding the lock." Udina retreated to a control console half-way down the platform and got to work.

He tailed closely behind, still cloaked as he scanned the ambassador turned councilor. He hadn't seen the man since he tossed him down a flight of stairs the year before, making it rather surprising when he discovered he was made a substitute when Anderson reprised his role as a captain when the Harvesters hit Earth. However, it wasn't surprising that Udina's diagnosis showed he was a level-five infected. He raised his side-arm and fired three shots into the councilor before decloaking. "Fred?!" Ashley sharply turned around to face the Terran as he reappeared.

"Ash! Don't shoot! He's with us!" Kaidan barked as he lept over the railing onto their platform.

Fredrick replied by calmly putting his weapon on the ground and putting his hands in the air. "Ashley, please listen. I can prove my intentions, but only if I'm given the opportunity to do so."

No one had an opportunity to talk further when the distinct sound of a breaching charge clicked into place on the other side of the door leading back to the elevators. Everyone turned to face the intruders when in a puff of smoke, the doors opened to reveal Captain Bailey and a squad of C-Sec officers. "Shepard! Made it as fast as we could. Looks like you already took care of things."

"But... we thought Cerberus was targeting us. Where did the soldiers go?" Sparatus stumbled.

"They were right here. Made like hell into the Keeper tunnels once they figured we were coming. In short, Shepard just saved your lives. Again," the captain replied plainly.

Fredrick stepped up with Udina's corpse over his shoulder. "That's all well, Bailey. Right now, I'd like to do an autopsy and show the councilors the results. Where's the most functional medical facility right now?"

"We've managed to retake Huerta and have started moving injured back in there."

"Colonel, forgive our interruption, but any idea why the Illusive Man would send troops to assassinate us?" Sparatus asked.

He simply shook his head with dismay. "The final image is not clear, but based upon the soldiers we've seen fielded throughout this war and the missions he's sent them on, it's become pretty clear what remains of Cerberus is little more than a micro-scale front for the Harvesters now."

* * *

 **15 hrs/14 min/35 sec**

 **Huerta Hospital morgue, Citadel Station**

He was now out of his armor and in a simple doctor's uniform as he performed the autopsy. The three remaining councilors watched from the window as he gingerly cut open Udina's skull. Carefully yanking the cut piece of skull away, he tossed it in the bin before continuing with severing remaining connected nerves to the bit of remaining gray matter. Half an hour, he had done the same for the late Rana Thanoptis, who had died a weeks prior to the Cerberus attack. She had continued her research on the affects of Harvester indoctrination before she had subsequently succumbed herself. Rana was quick to kill several Asari officials before committing suicide herself.

He cut into both brains, gradually displaying the interiors of both to display the internal layers of both victims' minds. Scattered throughout their minds were dark patches of tissue, like a grease stain on a shirt. Additionally, there were large clumps in between lumps like stones that the brain grew around. They felt hard, rubbery, and were especially slick in comparison to the rest of the brain. Walking to the window, he spoke through the room intercom. "Councilors, as you can see, while indoctrination generally has minimally visible effects on the outside of their victims," Fredrick started. "However, their brain tissue is greatly affected as it undergoes rapid decay, causing the various glands to start producing chemicals that increases the victim's subservience as well as make their brains more receptive to the messages the Harvesters put out."

"How does this happen, and how fast can we expect it to happen?" Tevos asked.

"Generally speaking, it happens faster with prolonged exposure to the Harvesters and their technological assets. However, this isn't a necessary given, and the process can take as long as it needs to. As for the infection process, there are five main stages we as Terrans have set to classify how far along a victim is and how to treat them. The first two stages are generally easy to recover from given enough time. The third and fourth stages do require medical treatment, but generally the same rules apply. The fifth stage means there is nothing we can do for the victims, and that medical treatment will result in killing the victim. This fifth stage was the unfortunate fate that fell upon the likes of Matriarch Benezia T'soni and Specter Saren Arterius back in 2183." From the cameras, Nolan continued to watch grimly. He had just returned from forcing the Cerberus forces into a full retreat from Citadel space. In the aftermath of the recent attack, light had been shown on the threat of attack within from infected individuals, calling for the need of the local Terran forces to begin forcefully checking down the populace for infected individuals, and profiling normal Humans for Cerberus sleeper agents. It was something he had hoped never to happen, but history just had the habit of repeating itself.

He walked down the hospital corridors to Thane's room where the Assassin was slowly recovering under the watchful eye of his son. Additionally, Commander Shepard and Dr. Solus were visiting. "...will take time. However, should come through successfully."

"Thank you, Mordin," a younger Drell returned. Unlike Thane's lime-green skin shade, the younger man's skin was a teal-green color and wore a C-Sec uniform.

"Commander, I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Nolan injected.

The Human commander and former STG operative excused themselves before leaving to talk with the Terran captain. "Good to see you could make it. I hope you got the message a few days ago?"

"I had. It is indeed disturbing. Still, I didn't fully understand what Dr. Solus had said. Could you perhaps explain again?" Nolan acknowledged.

Mordin pulled out a scan of Fredrick on his omnitool before explaining, "Minor changes made to his own DNA. Nothing too noticeable otherwise. However, noticing significant changes in so far in system performance. Performing more efficiently than regulations allow and what would be 'normal'."

Nolan nodded with approval, acknowledging that Mordin had successfully initiated diagnostics tracking on the colonel's systems. "Give me an example."

"Reviewed C-Sec security recordings. Nanite barrier active much longer than any period recorded prior." The image shifted to show a recording of the team's initial arrival at the C-Sec headquarters before zooming in on Fred specifically. His shield held up two consecutive minutes under heavy fire before it went down _after_ the area had been completely secured.

"That... shouldn't be possible. Even if it was, he would've overworked his dark matter cores, preventing him from continuing like that." Nolan wasn't as surprised any more, but still had some shock in his voice.

"So? What does this mean?" Shepard asked.

"Given the state of the virus, this could mean a lot of things."

* * *

 **17 hrs/31 min/01 sec**

 **Zakera Ward, Citadel Station**

Later that evening, Ashley had invited Fred to a small meeting at a cafe. Along with catching up on the recent events of the war, he explained what happened for most of the last several weeks. The two had a few laughs among the otherwise somber tales of the war. "Shit, so when's this virus gonna kick in?"

"Don't know. I just hope it doesn't fuck me up that badly," he sighed in response.

She put a hand on his as she told him, "Hey, I'm just glad you're still here, okay? I know I should've gotten this out earlier... I couldn't have made this far without you. Just try not to die before this is all done. I'd hate to climb down to hell just to haul your ass back up here again."

His heart was rattling inside of his ribcage as he laughed. "Stop trying to make me cry, alright? I just... I dunno, I'm just another soldier, no?"

"You keep saying that even after carrying the rest of us," Ashley hummed. "Besides, maybe it's just me, but... you're important to me... God, that felt so cringy."

Fred nearly choked on his drink. "I... what? I mean, I have nothing against what you said, but... are you saying...?"

"Really? I thought you would've put two and two together," Ashley grumbled, resting her chin on her cybernetic hand.

"No, I understand. I had thought we were friends, but I hadn't realized this went so far as to grow into office-place romance. After all that we've accomplished, I realize I feel the same way about you."

She broke into laughter in response. "Shit, that's how you say it?"

He responded by putting his hands up in fake surrender. "It's been over a century since I last tried something like this, but I'm ready to devote to this." He put his hands back on the table as they looked at each other's beaming smiles.


	10. Chapter 10: Our Few, Powerful Friends

(A.N.): School started up again, and I needed a temporary hiatus to get used to the throws of university again, and needed a temporary break as to decide what to put into this chapter. My apologies to the few who still read this.

Chapter 10: Our Few Powerful Friends

 _The attempt on the Citadel by Cerberus started a spark which I never thought I would've seen. After coming to a definite conclusion of security matters, the likes of me, Nolan, and men under our command were assigned to clearing out the station of infected and Cerberus agents, setting curfews, and making it painful to get either off or on to the station. Mere refugees are suspected of being the Harvesters' thralls, causing even innocents to be killed as they attempt to run from authority._

* * *

 _"And what of his condition?"_

 _"Once again, I'd like to express worry concerning your obsession with Fredrick. He's merely an organic. I'm more worried about this cycle's crucible project."_

 _"In reply to your complaint, once again, I would like to remind you the crucible can be dealt with. The sole reason they've had any headway thus far is due to his presence. If they complete the crucible and he's not present, we still have ample opportunity to allow the cycle to continue. If he's still alive when the crucible is finally implemented, it will mean the deconstruction of everything that we've built thus far. Is that clear?"_

 _"Fine. Answering your original question, his development has strayed off of the normal procedure, especially with the most recent major changes to his biology. However, the changes have been significant enough to directly affect the trust of those around him."_

 _"That's exactly what I wanted to hear. Keep up your monitoring progress. Inform me of anything else."_

* * *

 **June 28, 2186**

 **08 hrs/23 min/45 sec**

 _ **Sokol**_ **living quarters, Citadel Station**

It was back under heavy surveillance, but it was certainly better than being in the brig. In fact, it was the best sleep he had gotten in a while. Sticking both legs over the bunk, he hopped down and walked to the mess hall to get himself some breakfast. He sat down and started eating when he was greeted by Nolan, with his usual, stubborn glare. "'Morning, Fred. I see you're doing well."

"I do apologize if Tevos isn't, if that's what you're looking for. Are you going to pester me with another twenty questions?" Fredrick returned.

Nolan was fortunately more relaxed today than he had been for the last several days. "No. You're lucky your memories are still consistent, so you're free to return to the _Normandy_ today. Your 'good luck' gift is by the door, too."

The former Crimson Squad leader sighed before replying, "Thanks, Nolan. I don't know what I'd do without you. I assume you'll go back to shaking down refugees?"

"Those _are_ our orders, unfortunately. It's ugly, and I wish I didn't have to, but we simply have no choice but to police those we protect in our own defense and theirs, ironically."

"You know as well as I do the threat the thralls of the Harvesters pose to all of us, Nolan. I just wish they would've picked up on it earlier." Fredrick stood up and deposited his dirty dishes at the kitchen before returning to his quarters to put on his armor.

"Yeah, I wish we had something like a time machine, send one of us back with sufficient evidence to help the likes of you and Shepard get the council off their asses. What's your next mission with her anyways?"

"According to an associate to the Shadow Broker, there's a signal within Asari territory that Asari commandos have been heading in to investigate. Get the picture?"

"And they lost how many squads to this ambush when someone finally noticed?"

"Too many. Naturally, we have to clean up the mess," Fredrick grumbled, feeling the suit seals click into place. The two walked to the exit chamber as he put on his helmet. Walking into the decontamination chamber, Fred's eyes landed on a large crate set down just outside the door. He checked inside to find another MG-15 ready for deployment.

"Try not to lose this one, will you? We're short on heavy weapons as is," Nolan said.

The two walked out of the docks and along the walkway of other ships. Terran soldiers now lined each docking area, with temporary stations for scanning shipping crates, and various other bodily cavities for potential threats to the station populace. They hadn't walked for a minute when they saw a run down, heavily damaged vessel, with a platoon of Terran soldiers fencing in the Batarian inhabitants. "A Pighead ship? I didn't think any of those made it out of Hegemony territory," Fredrick started.

"Yeah. I'll give you the run-down," Nolan explained. "At some point, the Pigheads acquired a dead Harvester floating around doing God-knows what. The Hegemony thought they could regain their place in this galaxy through the technology they would salvage. What they ended up doing was leaving themselves exposed for infection, eventually infecting their leaders, and leaving their entire military in disarray when they eventually arrived. The few refugees we do pick up managed to bring a fuck-ton of their belongings along, including slaves."

"So what's the problem?"

"It's an opportunity to free up those people, and the Pigheads aren't having it. Reasons being those people are doing no good just standing there being slaves, and they have to go through medical checks anyways to make sure they don't turn out to be moles."

"Isn't that the point of having field medics active? To check their infection status?"

"They pack their slaves with plenty of control implants, and unless we cut them open and analyze the hardware, there's no knowing whether those are Batarian made or Harvester-grown."

"Eh. At least you're doing y-" Fredrick was sharply interrupted by the sound of a particle rifle firing. The two soldiers sharply turned around to see one of the Batarians dead with a gaping hole for a head and chunks of bone and blood scattered about. Now, all the Terran soldiers were barking in their various tongues, telling the panicking Batarians to stand down, forcing the remaining refugees onto their knees for some of the platoon to physically shake each one down.

Nolan sighed followed by growling with annoyance. "First one of the day. You better get going. I radioed ahead, let Shepard know you were coming. You know where the dropships are, and _try_ not to commit any more acts of friendly fire? At least for today." Nolan turned sharply away to investigate the mess while Fredrick simply continued onward. Getting aboard a Terran VTOL, he quickly disappeared into traffic and headed for the Presidium. It was almost nostalgic finally getting to ride back up the elevator to the Citadel Tower, remembering so many things that went so horribly wrong.

The still war-torn court room looked like the day Nazara came rummaging through in an attempt to open up the Citadel Relay. The only notably strange difference was that the C-Sec guards had made no attempt to prevent him from advancing considering his now less than perfect record of encounters with the council. He walked up the steps to hear Linda continue her pointless fight with the Councilors. "Still, the Dalatress has a very solid point," Tevos countered. "The Krogan were infected with the Genophage within good reason." The Asari still had her left arm in a cast after he shot it with his sidearm.

She would not let herself be defeated this easily. "Councilor, with all due respect, Palaven was in dire need of reinforcements, of which the Krogan were willing to provide assistance. Besides, as I'm sure the accounts of Dr. Solus and Colonel Müller can provide their own accounts as to why this was necessary."

"We've got a war to win, so I'll give the short version," Fredrick interrupted. "The Krogan wouldn't live to see the end of this war and fully recover. Their birth-rates are low enough to manage within times of peace. In such a war of galactic scale, their numbers would've decreased to the point their birthrates wouldn't be able to compensate. I'm sure Councilor Valern can provide the numbers from the STG to back that up."

Valern certainly didn't enjoy being given the extra attention. "Now, Colonel Müller, those files are class-"

"Don't bullshit me, Valern. We're the ones on the front lines, and I know those simulations exist. Also, if you weren't so hellbent on keeping those secrets, you could also share with your fellow council members the files referring to infected miners that I know for a fact you had handled at one of the STG facilities over a century and a half ago. Come on, we're wasting time as is, guys." Linda, Mordin, Garrus, and Kaidan followed closely behind as the Terran soldier left.

"Colonel, you do _not_ get to-" Valern started before a particle bolt blew clean through his hood and between his horns, causing him to fearfully scamper behind his podium.

"Thanks. We needed that," Shepard sighed, watching Fredrick holster his pistol.

"They needed to pull their heads out of their asses somehow. Besides, you're the PR, I'm the enforcer. I was doing their job."

"Excessive. But most necessary." The group returned to the elevator and returned the way they entered the tower. The moment they stepped out, the Salarian doctor bid farewell. "See you later, Shepard. Will be at hospitals on Citadel for time being. Helping refugees and injured. Like always."

"Stay safe, Mordin," Garrus waved. "The Citadel isn't safe anymore, and it'll take us a while to get back."

* * *

 **10 hrs/19 min/21 sec**

 **SSV _Normandy_ ,Liara's headquarters**

"Nice of you to join us again, Liara. It's always nice to have familiar faces onboard," Fredrick greeted, shaking the Shadow Broker's hand. In one of the empty rooms, Linda had made room for Liara to set up her numerous monitors she needed for the chain of command she now maintained.

"Likewise. If we could convince Wrex and Tali to return, we'd have the old team together again," Liara chuckled. "I've been doing what I've can to help refugees and provide intel on Reaper movements. As much as I'd want to help the effort directly, the Athame's Shield isn't big enough to wage war on a massive scale and while I admit the intentions are morally dubious, I'd prefer to have some of the Broker's network still standing when this is over. _He_ wouldn't be very happyif I were to let crumble."

"Better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven, huh?"

"Speaking of which, you still in there?"

"I wish I could say for certain. While I can confidently ascertain I haven't been converted into their thralls like Cerberus or what remained of the Protheans have, I can't help but feel something is very wrong. My mind is still mine for the time being, but the body just isn't what it used to be. Peering out to the world around me feels like watching a heavily simplified, poorly rendered version of reality. If I do completely turn, even if we win, send plenty after me. I'm simply too dangerous to be left alive."

"If that's your final wish. And this Javik, I've heard you two have been actively participating in the missions. What do you know of him?"

"Besides the fact he's an asshole? Very little. He practically treats any extensive conversation about the Prothean Empire as taboo. Out of shame, most likely."

"Unfortunate. I still remember the days when I would've given anything to meet someone like him, and now... well, it just seems so trivial, now. I assume you'll be heading down in this next mission?"

"I wish I could, if you guys will be facing corrupted Asari. As of last year, Linda started keeping me on board between bouts of bad behavior." He shuddered at the mere thought of corrupted Asari, designated 'banshee' for the horrible cries they made. Stretched into elongated monstrosities of their former selves, banshee used their biotics to stun enemies and close distance until they could break their barriers, and tear them apart with their claws. Whether it was due to their sheer presence, or some inane ability the corruption process did to the victims, banshee had a noticeable impact on team moral. "Anyways, what do you know about this next colony? I know what sort of condition Adrat-Yakshi have, and that unregulated, uncontrolled Asari with this condition are to be shot on sight, but I thought the Asari Republics actively euthanized those with the condition."

"They do, but symptoms don't show up until early adulthood and the late teenage years," Liara answered. "When the symptoms do show, Ardat-Yakshi are given two options: live in segregation or die. More often than not, they chose the latter. The former are subsequently sent off to colonies, fenced in and away from society. Unfortunately, this doesn't truly help their conditions, as it keeps their urges pent up. The condition causes them to need to meld with others, and they grow stronger with each victim they take, feeding the never-ending cycle."

"Unfortunate. I should get back to work. It was good talking with you."

"Likewise." The hum of her machinery disappeared as the doors locked behind him. Returning to the medbay, he opened up his monitor again in time to brief another squad of soldiers before invariably sending them off against bullshit odds. Just another day.

* * *

 **July 1, 2186**

 **13 hrs/03 min/08 sec**

 **Humanitarian Defense Task Force HQ, Arrae, Minos Wastelands**

Miranda Lawson and Jacob Taylor both made it clear to Harper that they weren't coming back after the destruction of the Collectors' base. They felt Cerberus had by now greatly exceeded their original mission of 'protecting Humanity's interests'. With what remained of the Lazarus Cell and a few other disbanded cells from Cerberus, they called for the formation of a down-sized group seeking to protect the Human populace in a more public setting and a micro scale. They focussed on the defense and improvement of various Human settlements, protecting settlements where Alliance forces were stretched too thin to keep them safe from slavers, and set up a plan to prepare for the Harvesters' arrival, later known as the HDTF. By the time the war had started, the HDTF had managed to acrue quite a large portion of former-Cerberus personnel. Unfortunately, Harper didn't let them go so easily.

Whether it was an act from his masters' will or his own desire to make an example out of those who 'veered' from his vision of a Human-dominated galaxy, he sent wave after wave against the task-force. Amidst missions to evacuate colonies on the verge of Harvester attacks, Cerberus was only a step behind to halt missions, cut off supply lines, or bait the Harvesters to their positions. Right now, Cerberus was at their doorstep, and Shepard's team arrived none too soon to help. Fredrick got on his knees and started helping a wounded Jacob back to his feet. "Taylor, stand still, I've got you."

The ex-Alliance soldier – now ex-Cerberus soldier – had taken a nasty hit to his stomach during a defensive hold against Cerberus forces. Since he last saw the agent, he'd now swapped his suit out for full-fledged Cerberus armor, and replaced the Cerberus logo with an engraving of Earth with a laurel, as was the case of all HDTF equipment. Furthermore, Jacob's hair had slightly grown out and he was looking a bit more unshaven since his last encounter and with a few extra scars too. "Shepard, are you a sight for sore eyes. We were just about finished there for a moment."

Fredrick walked off to check on the other HDTF soldiers present. "Good to see you're still alive and kicking. How has the war been treating you so far?"

He grunted as he pushed himself back to his feet. "Miranda and I have been busy acting as a midway point for refugees between colonies and the Citadel. I see you've managed to stay out of lock-up back on Earth."

"Yeah, Müller took the weight off all of us. It probably didn't matter when the war started, but it was nice having that extra run time to prepare."

The two were interrupted by coms on Jacob's suit. _This is Brynn. Jacob, are you alright?_

 _"_ We're clear. And we've got Commander Shepard out here with us. Open the doors." The large gates behind them creaked open to reveal another squad waiting behind the door led by Miranda and another unidentified woman.

"Shepard! I'm surprised to see you here. I was sure they jammed our communications," Lawson greeted as the others behind her approached them.

"We got word, and we're here to start moving people out," Linda reassured.

"That's great to hear. However, our automated AA guns are currently offline, and our shuttles will get shot out of the skies if we don't get them back online."

Distant explosions shook the facility, and were audible in the distance. "We don't have much time. Müller, Ashe, stay out here and keep the platform clear. EDI, Garrus, let's go. We don't have much time."

Fredrick watched as the others disappeared back inside before setting up the MG-15 bipod. Ashley and himself were left with a detachment of HDTF, all without their helmets to reveal the normal Human faces that the Cerberus grunts lacked. "Heh, like old times, huh? You, me, and a bunch of grunts with their backs against a wall and barely anywhere to hide?" Ashley laughed, jabbing Fredrick on the shoulderpad.

"Yeah, except this time, we've got the bigger gun." He smiled as he lifted up the heavy weapon and looked down the sights as two more Cerberus shuttles hovered over the platform. For the time being, it was otherwise quiet. Eventually, someone had to ask about their time taking down Saren two years prior. Meanwhile overhead, Cerberus gunships patrolled the skies, menacingly swooping overhead.

It wasn't until Jacob called one of the others over the radio that the evacuation began to make progress. _Shepard just cleared the roof and restarted the AA guns. Repeat, Commander Shepard restarted the AA guns. We'll be sending out shuttles shortly. Get ready to repel hostiles._

The large gates opened up behind them, revealing four shuttles coming off of a hanger rack. As the vehicles took to the air, the guns on the room of the facility shot off, turning a few of the gunships into flaming wreckages on the icy plant below. "The shuttles have successfully departed, sir. Prepare the next load," one of the other soldiers reported.

 _Good. Keep your defenses up. We still have three more groups to ship out before the base is completely evacuated._ They could hear small cheers go up in the background.

The moral was subsequently boosted among the external defense squadron. "Alright, guys! Keep it up! We're getting out of here alive... I'm not the only one who hears that, right?"

It was the distinct sound of a gunship having put all of the vessel's energy into the thrusters approaching at maximum speed. The base once again rocked as an explosion shook the top of the base. _Dammit! A suicide bomber just took out one of the cannons. Heads up down there, they're making a push!_

Without warning, two dropships on the landing platforms began dropping Cerberus forces. "We've got hostiles out here, Skipper! Hurry it up in there!" Ashley barked over the radio, before ducking into cover to return fire. Fredrick continued to lay down suppressing fire as any unfortunate Cerberus personnel who was foolish enough to jump out of cover was literally cut in half, exposing the plethora of barely recognizable organs inside and their pale, sickly skin. The blood seemed to be different too, as any that did leak out looked like it had been completely starved of oxygen, showing as a deep maroon rather than a candy-apple red.

Another group of shuttles prepared to take off as Linda, Garrus, and EDI rushed out along side them. "What's the situation?" Shepard asked.

"We're holding, Skipper. However, Cerberus isn't letting up to easily." Ashley reloaded her gun and peaked from cover again to see another couple of shuttles land and deploy more soldiers.

Fredrick expended the last of his current magazine before replacing the battery on the LMG. "Where's Taylor and Lawson? We could use their help out here."

"The former Cerberus operatives are currently inside withdrawing as much remaining intel as possible. They said they wanted to deny as much assets to Cerberus as possible," EDI answered.

" _The second group just made it out. We've still got two more groups of shuttles to go,"_ someone over the station intercoms announced.

The fighting on the landing platform continued, as more Cerberus soldiers continued to pour onto the station. Fredrick continued firing, and keeping the batteries recharged was much easier now. The last group of shuttles successfully flew away and escaped the Cerberus forces in orbit. Mere seconds after the last of any HDTF forces departed, Miranda and Jacob sprinted out from the base with heavy fire narrowly missing them. "We've gotten everything we need, but we have to go now!" Jacob barked, blindly firing behind him as hostile forces from the roof finally poured into the heart of the facility. An Alliance shuttle landed on the platform and opened up to the Shepard and the others.

With Cerberus officers barking for their deaths, they sprinted like madmen for the escape as heavy gunfire rapidly whittled down their shields. Everyone filed onboard, with Jacob and Miranda being the last to make the jump. "We're clear! Get us off the ground!" Shepard ordered.

Taylor continued to keep his eye on the base behind them with a detonator on hand. With two Atlas mechs on the platform and several dozen soldiers present, it almost looked like they were about to be shot out of the sky when Jacob tapped the detonator. The platform violently shook as large explosions ate enormous holes in the building before the facility simply tilted over and crashed down the mountainside.

* * *

 **15 hrs/30 min/02 sec**

 **SSV _Normandy_**

Two of the shuttles along with their own landed on the _Normandy_ for repairs before continuing to the Citadel, as would be Samara. Jacob would be keeping watch on them to see their safe arrival while Miranda would be continuing on her own. Apparently, her father finally managed to get ahold of her younger sister, and wanted to see her safely away before the end of the war. In the medbay, Fredrick sat by and watched the engineers as he talked with some of the ex-Cerberus scientists that resided with HDTF. "So what became of Project Overlord?"

It was part of Dr. Archer's team was present after they narrowly survived the disastrous experiment. "The Illusive Man wanted to continue the project, and start with someone similar to Dr. Archer's younger brother. We simply told him that simply put we'd have to dig through the entire Human populace for someone with such talent and was mentally resilient enough to withstand the simulation without snapping in half. He had none of it. We simply destroyed what we had and left to never look behind us again."

"Yeah, he's always been a man of questionable intelligence. So what're you working on now?"

"Until the start of the war, Taylor had us working on an improved defense grid for protecting colonies. He noted the faulty system put in place down at Horizon back during your mission against the Collectors and wanted to have that system replaced with something much more reactive and much more user friendly. Which reminds me, are you part of their system?"

"Not yet, but I might be showing parts of it. Why?"

"We heard about the crucible project the likes of the Alliance and the other council races are contributing to. While it's great to hear we might have a solution, I can't help but feel skeptical in the idea. I feel that if we are going to win this war, we can't put all our bets on the Crucible and expect it to work. At least not with how it'll theoretically work."

"So what are you proposing?"

"I know it's already plenty to ask from you, but I dawned on the idea of having a virus to inject into the Reapers' network. We already know that they have some sort of neural network, as they react too quickly when they detect one ship. With the network they have, we could easily burn them from the inside out, or at least weaken them through their network so we have the upper hand. Even if it isn't completely representational, your nervous system would prove the perfect testing ground for such a virus."

"I see. I take it you disagree with the Illusive Man's standpoint on controlling the Harvesters?"

"It's a ludicrous proposition. It simply isn't physically possible. Even if we were to tack on some sort of killswitch to your rig, wouldn't you eventually override the mechanism and render it null?"

"I would. I agree to your proposition, but we'll be heading out to the Quarians and Geth's aid shortly, so it'll have to wait until our return to the Citadel."

"Thank you. Words cannot express how grateful I am to hear you agree." Fredrick headed up to the mess hall where he saw Jacob and Miranda talking with Garrus and Linda. Shepard had her omnitool out while she continued to talk, probably discussing future plans with the HDTF. Giving one more salute to the group, he quickly disappeared into the medbay.

"Hey Fred, what's up?" Ashley had been waiting for him in the medbay, in her civies. On her belt was a holster with the M1911 that he gifted her earlier.

"Just having a talk with some of the ex-Cerberus scientists in the hanger. Fortunately, they're not as zealous as their former organization would practically require them to be. Is there anything I could help you with?"

She sighed before she continued, "I was thinking of this fucking war. At any moment shit could hit the fan, and we may as well just head out and wave white flags with what's left of our rifles. I know we're going to pull out of this, but I wanted something to distract from the fact all of us might not come through in one piece." Ashley nervously brushed her still organic left hand against her now synthetic right hand.

"What'd you have in mind?"

"The next time we have shore leave, I wanted some time to ourselves. Something to remind me I still have something worth fighting for."

She held his face in the palm of her hand while he held hers. "I know. I've been having the same crushing feeling that we're just rushing around hopelessly fighting on all fronts while our allies fuss over trivial matters instead of focussing on the possibility of extinction if we put down whatever previous difficulties we've had in the past and simply focussing on winning this war. It's exhausting."

"So you'd like to go out?"

"As in a date?"

"Yeah... something like that..." their lips joined for a prolonged kiss.


	11. Chapter 11: Like Old Times

Chapter 11: Like Old Times

 _Rule of thumb states anything that can go wrong will. Naturally, this was the case when the Quarians sent their distress signal from deep within Geth space. I've got a long conversation with their admirals planned when we arrive. I'd sooner have their asses in a sterilized sling if this weren't somehow tied to the Harvesters to begin with, lest this turn out to be a waste of resources._

* * *

 **June 29, 2186**

 **13 hrs/27 min/31 sec**

 **SSV _Normandy_ men's bathrooms, en route to the galactic Far Rim**

Fredrick washed his face off and took a long look at himself in the mirror. While the Terran military wasn't particularly short on such resources like shaving cream, he had been particularly short on time, and as a result had gone for a long time without a proper shave or haircut. Long gone with his slicked back hair and unshaven face, leaving his cowlick to grow out and his facial hair to jut out like a porcupine. He grimaced at the look with harsh disappointment, as he liked keeping his hair short and his beard shorter for the sake of convenience. The bathroom doors hissed open to reveal Ashley. Naturally, EDI chimed, _"Lieutenant Commander Williams, the restrooms are on the-"_

"Yeah yeah, I get it," Ashley ignored, continuing to walk up alongside Fred. "Hey, what's up?"

"Checking out how far out of control my hair has gotten. I haven't had the chance to shave or get a haircut and it's really showing." In one hand, he had a can of shaving jell and the other his knife.

Cooing, she leaned forward and brushed her hand along his spiky chin. "I dunno, but I rather like this look in comparison to the folded back and reserved Fred. I like the outgoing vibe."

With Ashley's opinion, he took a second longer to observe himself. "You think so?"

"Frankly, I hated what you had previously. I just looked too... unnatural."

"Of all the things normal Humans were calling us out for and you thought the haircut was unnatural?" he chuckled lightly.

"It's a fashion meant for stuck-up, chauvinistic, brazen swines like Udina was. Don't tell me you were thinking of stooping _that_ low."

"Well, come to think of it, the hair does look a bit nicer... Still, I'd at least like to cut down on the beard. Makes the helmet much more comfortable."

Their conversation was interrupted when Joker informed them, _"Hey guys, no mean to rush you, but the commander wants you two at the meeting with the Quarian admirals. We've just exited the relay and I got a hail from their ship. We'll be docking with them shortly."_

Ashley gave a squirming glare at the security camera up by the door. "We should get going."

Putting on his shirt, Fredrick followed Ashley out the door and to the elevator up to the first deck. "I remember last year, we escorted Tali to a trial where she was about to be exiled due to her father's excessive experiments with Geth tech that resulted in his own death and several others," he explained. "Before we left to search for her father, we asked around for the admirals' opinions. They were rather divided on the matter revolving around the Geth. If they're this deep into Geth space, I can't imagine..."

"Damn, that sounds bad," she sighed. "It can't get any worse than this." The doors opened up to reveal the bridge, allowing them to enter the hallway leading down to the war room.

"Speaking of the Quarians, any word on what had become of Tali before the war broke out? I only came out of cryo mere minutes before the war started and didn't get a chance to find out where everyone was once shit hit the fan."

"Unfortunately, neither have I. Skipper hasn't really brought it up either, considering she was the one who kept in touch the most with the reformed group after you were arrested. I was mostly tied up with shit in the Alliance, scrambling like mad to just get through the crowds of panicking civies, running like headless chickens."

The maintained their conversation until Linda entered seven minutes later with five other admirals. At the front of the group, she was talking with none other than Tali herself. "Oh hey! Müller! When did you get out of confinement?" the Quarian greeted.

"Just when the war started. You look no worse for wear yourself," he returned. "How've you been holding up since I last saw you?"

Admiral Raan, as he remembered, was Tali's aunt. "She's been promoted to admiral, colonel. We're aware of your current state."

"I can assure you that won't be a problem," he dismissed. To be fair, it was a big fat lie. During his time back on the _Sokol_ , he had a system diagnostics scan to check on the progression of the virus. By now, it had made minor changes across his internal organs, made significant modifications to the implants it had fully infected, and was cropping up on the last of his uninfected systems rather rapidly, coming to a grand total of around sixty-five percent towards complete infection. "So what's the situation?"

"Quarians decided to attempt retaking their homeworld, even after you had specifically broadcasted those files you picked up in the Serpent Nebula," Linda groaned, rubbing her face with the palm of her hand. "I specifically told you guys I hoped you didn't follow through with the war at Tali's trial, did I not?"

Admiral Koris sharply injected, "Well, I specifically _told_ the others that the Geth were acting in self defense and that leading up to this conflict, we should go for a more diplomatic approach."

"Rannoch is _our_ homeworld!" Admiral Gerrel barked.

"We should at least not have been so quick to invade full force!" Admiral Xen injected, releasing an audible huff from her suit. "Had we simply taken more time to recover Rael's work like we suggested-"

" _Gentlemen!_ Please, we got off on the wrong foot," Fredrick yelled, earning the other's attention. "Let's start from the top. What's this invasion all about?"

"The Admirals had managed to come to a conclusion that we could better prepare for the Reaper invasion if we retook our homeworld and established it as a central hub to begin rebuilding on," Tali sighed. "Unfortunately, the conflict proved to last longer than projected."

"If we hadn't wasted six months agreeing, we would've retaken the homeworld by now and we would've been ready to defend ourselves!" Gerrel barked.

"There was no way to know we only had seven months to prepare!" Admiral Raan finally spouted out.

Fredrick rolled his eyes, feeling the bottom eyelid of his right eye twitch. "Okay, know what? I've long since learned there's no point beating around the bush after the first time failed. Is this fight somehow tied in with the Harvesters?!"

"A Geth dreadnought started broadcasting a Reaper signal a few weeks back and has been sharply improving their efficiency and controlling the Geth as a whole!" Tali shouted.

" _YES!_ Thank you!" he yelled gratefully, but not before slamming his fist on the table, creating a massive dent in the shape of his fist. The large clang of metal sharply silenced the others as the looked to the source of the sound in shock. He was on the verge of ranting on how the conflict was a waste of time considering the circumstances concerning the invading Harvesters. But now that it was clear the Geth-Quarian situation was another front, it was much easier to mentally accept.

While she was relieved at the sudden silence, Linda wasted no time taking advantage of the attention he earned. "Okay, enough bickering. What's the situation like?"

"We've managed to force them into the home system," Tali said, using her omnitool to project Tikkun System and the boundaries between Geth and Quarian forces. "While the Geth had been holding out for some time, they were beginning to take casualties at an increased rate when the dreadnought started broadcasting the Reaper signal. Now with increased coordination, we can't get our ships out or make a proper counter-attack. Say Shepard, given how we were able to infiltrate the Geth heretic station using the stealth systems, I was thinking it would work again in getting us aboard that ship to disable the signal."

"I agree," Linda acknowledged. "It'll give the rest of you the opportunity to fall back and regroup."

"We can't fall back now! We must persist while they are vulnerable!" Gerrel argued.

"Stop it, Admiral! We can't afford to send more marines to their deaths at this rate!" Tali chastised. "Besides, we might find data aboard that ship that could provide us insight to their forces."

"But who will you be taking aboard?"

Linda answered, "Admirals, I don't know if Tali told you anything about our endeavors over the last four years, but we've done nothing but done everyone else's dirty work to ensure we get anything accomplished. We'll be going aboard, and Joker will safely drop you back off at the Migrant Fleet to make sure you can lead them safely back to the mass relay."

"Thank you, Commander Shepard. I'm glad that at least you can be reasonable," Raan replied.

They began to file out of the room, with Tali, Shepard, Fredrick, and Ashley lingering towards the back of the group. Tali leaned in to ask, "I hope you don't mind if I come along, Shepard. You'll need my help with the Geth tech."

"That's fine. Besides, I was thinking of taking the old crew aboard. We've got everyone back, with the exception of Wrex. He's stuck doing his own thing with the other Krogan clan leaders?" Linda said. "Besides, we all have experience combating the Geth and I figured it'd be helpful to have us all along."

"So just like old time Skipper?" Ashley chuckled.

"I'm just glad we don't have the Mako anymore," Tali laughed.

* * *

 **14 hrs/02 min/57 sec**

 **Tikkun System, Perseus Veil**

Jeff activated the stealth systems just as they exited the Mass Relay into the heart of Geth space. All around them, the Quarians aimlessly engaged the Geth with no sense of proper direction or plan. Vessels from both sides bombarded each other in a broad-side formation, littering the vacuum of space with scrap metal. EDI quickly tapped into the Geth dreadnought's security systems to allow them access to the Geth docking areas. Walking onto the docking bridge and sealing their suits for vacuum, Shepard gave one last briefing as to their current objective. "Okay people, once we're aboard, we'll find whatever's broadcasting the Reaper signal and shut it down. Tali may not be part of the crew anymore, but she's still our expert on Geth software and is another addition to our long list of... well, exceptions."

"She's still family, right?" Kaidan asked. "It's nice to see you again, Tali."

Fredrick could just barely see the young Quarian admiral smile from under her visor. "Thanks, Alenko. It's hard to believe I'm here with all of you again."

 _"Shepard, there's another problem,"_ Joker added over the intercom. _"One of the docking mechanisms isn't clamping on. It looks torn to hell."_

"I don't suppose any of us have experience with zero-g, do we?" Garrus asked, trying to make humor out of the revelation.

"Shouldn't be a problem," Fredrick answered, holstering his rifle over his shoulder. "Open the door, Joker. I'll see what I can do from the other side."

 _"Stay safe, Freddy. I've seen your older friends and I'm not explaining to them you got shot to hell trying to solo a Geth dreadnought."_ The air violently hissed out of the room before the doors quietly opened. The long tube metal docking tube connecting to the dreadnought had been heavily damaged by what looked to be a mix of space debris and Quarian fire. Taking a step back, he sprinted forward and made a swan dive motion down the tube, gradually guiding himself using his biotics. Guiding himself onto his feet, the docking tube behind him collapsed as a large hunk of debris cut clean through.

 _M_ _ü_ _ller! What's your status?_ Linda demanded over coms.

"I'm fine. But it doesn't look like we can get the rest of you over from this side. I'll be heading in and looking for another dock." He opened the door leading inside, feeling only the silent thump from under his feet. He nervously eyed his HUD motion tracker and the environment around him, almost confident the Geth could feel his presence. The inside wasn't like the inside of the Harvester they retrieved the IFF and Legion from, and looked much simpler, with the walls looking more flat than fleshed out. He looked up to see a sizable hole piercing through the hull and into the vacuum, leading to the mangled platforms leading to the docking controls on a level above. Ducking through a damaged door, he kept his eyes forward, looking for sign of movement.

 _Fred, I've got your position. I see another functional dock from our position over here,_ Tali informed him. _Be careful, I see a few Geth units closing in on you. Be careful._

Prying the next door open, he kept them wedged ajar until he was completely through before allowing them to close behind him. Suddenly, the doors on the other side slid open to reveal a couple of Geth platforms. He drew his rifle and began firing back as he narrowly dodged their plasma slugs. Jumping up to the platform above, he hit a few keys before opening up coms again. "Shepard, I've activated another docking bridge, but you might be careful. The Geth are onto my position, and I don't know how long we have until they start pouring down on us."

 _Thanks for the heads up. Hang tight, we're on our way._ Her last word seemed to echo a bit after the coms went silent. The door at the other side of the chamber shifted open to allow access to his six other companions. "Good job, Müller. Hopefully we didn't take too long?" Shepard asked.

"The Geth are taking their time. We don't have much to worry about. Yet. Shame about the otherwise nice view up here."

"Good. I know you hate it, but try interfacing and get a fix on that signal. We can't afford to waste time searching up and down the ship."

* * *

 _To say the Geth 'felt' weird was an understatement. Wading through them was like stepping into a ball pit, except every ball was sentient and had a voice. Feeling as they interacted with each other was like watching a microscopic view of cells in a body, watching as blood cells pumped through the blood vessels. Each one didn't bear meaning without the others collectively pouring in, contributing like strands on a spider's web._

 _It was dark, and incredibly hard to see amidst the sea of forms or to hear anything above the crowd of Geth programs. However, towards what looked to be the center of the pool was a singular, pulsating form like a tumor. Wadding through the crowd, he attempted to investigate further while the Geth forms attempted to climb onto him, inspecting him in turn. He stepped closer and closer, hearing whispers from the form._ "This has nothing to do you. Just walk away."

 _He was quiet for a second._ "And let you win?"

"It would be preferable to the damage you will cause."

 _They both fell silent for again. 'Balance' was noticeably a common term used in the Harvesters' rhetoric, yet at the same time it seemed out of place considering their methods. Even with what little insight the Leviathans had provided into their minds, nothing added up._ "Just keep talking. I'm still waiting for a good reason to stop." _He felt it, looking and searching. The signal was definitely coming from aboard the dreadnought, but there was a presence felt down on the planet below too. For now, the Geth ship was simply serving as a mobile transmitter for the signal, extending its reach. Shutting it down on the dreadnought would easily half its efficiency and cut down greatly on the effective range._

 _The drive core. Of all the logical places, it was in the drive core._

* * *

 **14 hrs/54 min/15 sec**

 **Geth dreadnought, Rannoch's orbit**

The original team continued making their way through the long halls of Geth hunters, heavies, and soldier platforms. They continued to retain their original positions like muscle memory, as it spread strength among the group in a way Geth weren't capable of taking advantage of, no matter how long the synthetics took to process their positioning. Plasma, thermal, and particle rounds continued to silently fly through the dark, empty rooms while they continued to chatter over their suit coms. "Looks like the last of them," Kaidan hummed. "Any idea when they'll be back?"

"Soon. We've got to be drawing close, so let's go," Linda answered, leading the team down another corridor.

Tali was admittedly amazed by the internal architecture. "The ship's design is almost Quarian, but not quite. It's meant for synthetics, not organics."

"I suppose it's meant to serve as some form of structural order," Fredrick proposed. "When I interfaced with their network, I could feel the presence of Geth not loaded onto platforms on the ship. They basically work like ants in a hive performing various tasks to maintain the ship, with the exception of a lack of a central figure like a queen."

"For all our cybernetic upgrades, I'll never understand upgrading that completely to a system," Tali responded in awe.

"Come on guys," Shepard interrupted. "It shouldn't be that much further to the main battery. By the way, Tali, I thought your position would be on a bridge. Helps to keep chain of command safe."

"I'm more experienced with hacking than ordering vessels around. Besides, you and Müller are high-ranking officers within your respective factions, yet I don't see any need for either of you to stand back, watching from a flagship. Or Liara. Her position is a rather 'prestigious' one and yet I don't see her sending some nameless grunts in her place." The team entered a large shaft heading straight downward with maintenance platforms lining the sides on the way down. Each climbing down the ladders one by one, they continued their advance. Reaching the bottom, Tali hacked through the lock of another door, leading into a long, intricate corridor that looked to run the length of the ship. Before they could take another step forward, a large wave of energy shook the chamber, followed by a wall of energy sweeping through.

"Müller, I'd greatly appreciate it if you didn't take us down a path that led through the maintenance shaft for a dreadnought's main gun next time," Garrus sighed.

"Sorry, we're pressed for time and there weren't any alternative routes. I'd hate to give it to them, but the Geth are genius architects if their end goal is to make it hard to navigate through their ships." He decidedly took point against the Geth soldiers, leading them down the corridor, moving from cover to cover. Messily climbing through the structure, they crawled closer and closer to the back of the gun where the energy pulses originated from.

Hastily opening the door, Tali beckoned the others to follow inside. They all looked back in fear as another energy pulse licked their barriers and shields as it passed by. "Another stage of trying to kill us. Next time, before any of you rescue me from some ancient ruins, could you at least provide me the fine-print of just how many times we'll be having close-death encounters?" Liara asked.

"Hey, any fight you can crawl away from is a fight you've _won_ ," Ashley answered.

"What is it everyone has against stairs now?" Kaidan huffed at the sight of the next platform. It was relatively large, granting enough space of all of them to stand on. "And why is it that elevators have gotten slower? Is it because we're in space and some fundamental law about physics state that if an elevator goes to fast in an artificial gravitational field that the fabric of the universe will tear in half? Why is it Geth would still need an elevator anyways?"

Liara slowly nodded. "Actually, those are good questions," she agreed.

"The signal is right above us. And this is the fastest way to get up there that doesn't include heading back into the main cannon barrel." Fredrick stepped on first, keeping his eyes looking towards the top of the shaft.

Almost reaching the top, two Geth heavy troopers ran out to attack them firing at the machinery below the platform. All seven just barely climbed off in time before the large plate of metal crumbled, falling down the long elevator shaft behind them. Ashley was the last to walk away, still catching her breath. "Right. Remind me never to take a Geth-made elevator ever again."

In the next room was the underside of the dreadnought's main core. The eezo power source generated a large, glowing sphere above them, contained by a rigid grid. Right underneath was clearly parts of Harvester equipment molded onto the Geth structure. "Yeah, definitely Reaper tech. But what's...?" Linda tapped a key on the console, causing the ball of Harvester material to unfold. The talons gradually pulled back to reveal a Geth platform inside with its arms and legs restrained on the upper and lower halves of the device.

They all knew who the Geth was. "Shepard-Commander! Help us!"

"Legion! I can't believe I'm saying this, but am I glad to see you!" Tali greeted. "But... Shepard, how can we tell Legion isn't under the Reapers' influence as well?"

Shepard acknowledged, "I can get the suspicion, but I doubt Legion would agree to this. Besides, if he were hacked, they wouldn't have him strung up like this."

"We understand your doubts. Once freed, we will submit to any restraints you deem necessary," Legion replied.

"So what is this that you're coupled with? It is the source of the Reaper signal, right?" Linda inquired.

"Yes. Removing me will cut the signal. However, there are two locking mechanisms at either side of this chamber denying me access to my motor drivers. Deactivating them will grant me access, and I can dismantle the rest from here."

"How did the Reapers take control anyways?" Garrus added, walking to one of the platforms. "I thought we rewrote the Heretic Geth last year?"

"You did. The Heretics rejoined shortly after. However, the decision to join the Old Machines was difficult. Creators attacked, we simply desired to live. Old Machines extended offer of help. Geth accepted."

"Dammit! I begged the other admirals to reconsider attacking! I know allying with the Reapers is inexcusable, but this wouldn't have happened had they listened!" Tali cursed aloud, slamming her fist against one of the consoles.

Shepard watched as Legion pulled himself free from his restraints and as the energy core above went dim. "Admirals, get out of here while you can. We've finally disabled the Reaper signal. Repeat, you are clear to exit."

 _We are forever in your debt, Commander. Civilian fleet, prepare to withdraw,_ Admiral Raan answered.

"We've successfully disabled the drive core to grant us easier escape. Alert! Geth reinforcements approaching!" Legion yelled, as the doors opened to reveal more platforms, including a Geth prime.

"Get a weapon, Legion! We are leaving!" Shepard ordered, tossing a grenade amidst the enemy crowd.

Legion scooped up a fallen sniper rifle and joined the others as they made for an exit. Suddenly the ship violently rocked as Quarian fire rocked the hull. "We must hurry! The dreadnought will not be able to withstand this magnitude of fire while the barriers remain offline!" Legion encouraged, loading another thermal clip into its rifle.

"This is Admiral Zorah! We are still aboard the Geth dreadnought! Hold your fire until we escape! Dammit! They aren't responding!" Tali hissed, trying to raise the others.

Legion continued to lead the others while they continued to hold off the approaching Geth forces. "Where are we even going?!" Liara howled as she nearly stumbled off her feet from another explosion.

"We will be using a fighter from the hanger area to depart. Keep following!"

They ran across a long bridge with a mix of Geth vessels on either side of the walkway. Another explosion rocked the dreadnought when the artifical gravity suddenly shut off. Legion began working on uncoupling the docking locks while the others continued to gather themselves. _Away party, this is_ Normandy. _I'm detecting a loss of gravity on that ship. Are you alright?_ Joker asked.

"We're fine. We'll be departing in a Geth fighter. Hold your fire on the Geth ship with the beacon. Repeat, hold your fire on the vessel with the beacon," Linda informed, still climbing on the ship's hull to place a small, cylindrical device.

"Shepard-Commander! We cannot remain any longer! We must depart!" Legion wailed as the others climbed aboard.

Linda wasted no more time climbing in to the side and closing the hatch. Legion tapped the controls and took flight, as the dreadnought crumbled behind them, snapping in half as another barrage from Quarian cannons tore what was left in half. A few remaining Quarian ships remained to ensure the rest of the Migrant Fleet and the _Normandy_ had room to escape from the now disorganized Geth armada.

* * *

 **16 hrs/29 min/11 sec**

 **SSV _Normandy_ war room**

The Quarian admirals continued to bicker with each other after news arrived they had endangered him and the others when they fired at the dreadnought. By now, he had lost interest in the increasingly pointless conversation, pulled up a chair, and proceeded to catch some shut eye until his input was needed. Admiral Raan informed Shepard that Admiral Koris was now stuck behind enemy lines after taking down a planetary defense cannon down on Rannoch.

"Colonel?"

He let out an embarrassing snort as he snapped to attention and sat upright. "Yes, Admiral Xen?"

"I figured maybe you would hold a different opinion on the matter. I think we could use this Geth prototype for some insight to their consensus. The commander had some attachments to the platform and I wa-"

"Didn't she mention the Geth gave themselves to the Harvesters out of self preservation?" he interrupted.

"Yes, but-"

"Wake me up when we've got something else to talk about." He shifted back into his slouched posture and closed his eyes again. He felt a few shakes, but let them go unnoticed as he slipped back into the cold embrace of darkness. They needed a fucking vacation.


	12. Chapter 12: Heartland

Chapter 12: Heartland

 _It's strange, finally setting foot on Rannoch. Since the Terran Republic made contact with the rest of intergalactic society, the Quarian homeworld was regarded as something of a cautionary tale to the point of being mythical, like a long-lost city. For a place populated by pure machines, I expected the place to be less green and more metallic. We've taken down the Harvester signal in orbit, but Legion reports the presence of a destroyer-class Harvester present on the surface below still keeping control of the Geth consensus. Right now with a little help from Legion, we're clearing the path for the Migrant fleet to make another run at the planet, get a shot off at the Harvester and end the war. I just hope both sides are willing to stop shooting at each other to see the bigger picture for once._

* * *

 **June 30, 2186**

 **21 hrs/40 min/25 sec**

 **Kodiak Shuttle, approaching last broadcasted signal from Admiral Koris' escape pods**

Fredrick gave a brief look out the window into the night sky of Rannoch above and the crumbling remains of the admiral's ship below. While Shepard was off with Legion to disable a Geth hanger, he was tasked with rescuing the downed Koris and his crew and was given a small detachment of Alliance marines, Kaidan, and Tali to help with the mission. He looked around him at the others in the small vessel, observing their pure navy blue with white stripes of the Alliance marine corps. Before they left the _Normandy_ , Legion had mentioned that he had a plan to lightly upgrade the Geth systems once the Harvester had been destroyed, but didn't go into greater detail.

Standing up and turning on a screen for briefing, he turned to the men and began, "Alright gentlemen, listen up! Our job out here is help the Quarians clean up their mess, starting with a S&R for an Admiral Koris. As much of an ass as the man could be, he had proven himself a resourceful, smart, and efficient leader in the conflict against the Geth and had earned the respect of many underneath him. If the Quarians are to be joining us in everyone's war against the Harvesters, keeping their moral up is a top priority. I want you to stick close formation as we sweep through the escape pods for survivors, and try rounding any severely injured up. Is that clear so far?"

"Yessir!" the crew answered.

"Good. Once we've taken account of all possible survivors, we'll be clearing out a few nearby AA guns and a jamming tower the Geth have set up so we can find and retrieve them. I want radio callouts of Geth platforms that should be prioritized, including sharpshooters, cloaked platforms, and heavies, whether they're armed with RPGs or are gargantuan models standing at seven meters. Once we reach the site, I want a quick headcount to make sure none of us have been picked off. Chances are, once they know we're here, they'll start swarming us and quickly."

"Sir, I'm getting us as close as we can to those AA guns without setting them off," the pilot reported from the cockpit. "ETA thirty seconds."

The lights in the shuttle dimmed, replaced with the usual red glow. The distinct sound of thermal clips entering guns filled the small metal box as everyone stood up, waiting by the side doors. He could see outside as the ground drew closer and closer before coming to a complete halt. The door hissed open, and the ten Humans and single Quarian stepped out onto the rocky surface under the cover of night. It was an eerie pass through the rocky pass, occasionally gunning down patrols of Geth around a few flaming escape pods, with dead Quarians and Geth littering the floor. "They've come so far," Tali muttered mournfully.

They continued through the fire-lit night, climbing over the next ridge and around a few mines. "Geth patrol, twenty meters," Kaidan informed, eyeing a group of Geth soldiers sweeping through the canyon.

"They know we're here. Take 'em out." He leveled his rifle and shot a few bursts for cover while the other Alliance troops advanced. Jumping down, he returned to the front of the line, taking point for the team.

As they reached the AA gun platform and jamming tower, heavier Geth units arrived with integral grenade launchers on their wrists. "Watch the wrist rockets!" Tali yelled, ducking at one flew right above her head onto a rock pile behind her. Kaidan and three of the other men gradually pushed forward, keeping the Geth back while Fredrick, Tali, and the others approached the control panel.

"Tali, see what you can do to disable those turrets. Rook and Allen are to set charges on the tower. Everyone else form a defensive perimeter, keep those bastards off the people at work. Let's go," he calmly ordered. The Geth were at least generous enough to provide thick railings on the walkways connecting the platforms, though it ultimately proved their undoing as they struggled to retake the area. The two Alliance demolitionists used a few charges before they finally caused the jamming tower to crash down.

Tali returned to them with her omnitool out. "I've got an incoming message from Koris!"

"Good. Patch him through," Fred replied, pulling out his own omnitool.

 _Colonel. I'm grateful to hear from you, but my time is up. I've been separated from what's left of my crew and I myself am surrounded. Please help them, M_ _üller. They're only civilians,_ Koris greeted, dread in his voice.

"How hot is your area?"

 _Too many. I'm getting low on thermal clips and you'll only have time to rescue one group._

"Fucking binary choices," he growled. "Listen. Send me your coordinates. I'll have the team I'm with head over in a shuttle to rescue your crew. I'll be heading over personally to get you out of your mess."

The admiral let out a prolonged, nervous chuckle. _Rael mentioned his father's stories about you. Always mentioned how you were a loner._

"Yeah, well I've been working alone for a while now. You don't seem too far from here. I'll be there in five minutes tops." After fully regrouping with the other soldiers present with the shuttle approaching in the distance. "Alright, small change of plans. Command will be shifting back to Lt. Commander Alenko. Finish the mission and return to the _Normandy_ to drop the survivors off and send the shuttle back for me. The admiral himself has been separated from his team, and I'm going after him personally. I'm not trying to belittle the rest of you, but I've got advanced movement capabilities which will get me across the landscape much faster. I trust you know what to do from here. Good luck, gentlemen."

Without another word, he was halfway across the platform over the plethora of destroyed Geth platforms and lept up the side of a small cliff in a single bound. Updating his HUD, he kept his eye on the minimap as he rushed towards a small blip the admiral sent him. He swiftly got the idea he was running in the generally correct direction as a Geth dropship flew overhead with another deployment of troops about fifty meters away. Leaping over a rock he found himself right behind a large group of Geth platforms advancing down a canyon with their weapons trained on thinning pillar that looked to have well over half of its mass shot off.

Koris loaded his second to last thermal clip into his rifle while his suit barriers recharged. His shoulderpad had already been shot and his suit ruptured. Looking up to the skies, he watched as the second wave of Quarian vessels reengaged the still uncoordinated Geth fleet above. He closed his eyes and listened to the gunshots around him, praying that the other admirals would finally come to the realization that their homeworld was no longer worth the losses they've sustained. Accepting his fate, he rose from cover, only to realize that the sounds of Geth plasma weaponry had rapidly died down. In the middle of the crevasse were the damaged remains of the Geth from earlier, with their gray soupy fluids oozing out onto the dirt underneath them, with Fredrick amidst the group, finishing off a Geth prime. "Admiral Koris, are you alright?"

"I should be asking you the same thing," Koris sighed with relief.

Fredrick loaded another battery into his rifle as he acknowledged, "I didn't even break a sweat. You're the one with the suit puncture. So far, it's still fresh, your shoulder hasn't sustained any serious damage, and your immune system doesn't have anything foreign in it yet. Your crew is safely away and we'll have a shuttle at our position shortly."

"I hadn't realized you would act so quickly," the Quarian admiral said, eyeing a shuttle approaching in the distance.

The Terran turned to face another Alliance shuttle approaching. When it landed, Linda, Garrus, Legion, Liara, and James stepped out. "Müller, heard you were here. I assume you held out alright?"

"Yeah. I assume Tali and Kaidan told you about the detour. What's the next phase?"

Legion stepped forward and answered, "There is still an Old Machine present on the planet. Shepard-Commander proposed the use of concentrated fire from the fleet. However, it is currently housed in a central base several kilometers Northeast."

"Oh good. A Geth that can talk," Koris sighed. "Tell me, was the Geth's alliance out of self preservation or not?"

"You are correct, Creator-Koris," Legion replied.

The Quarian admiral made a victorious gesture. "I _told_ them. Still, that leaves the issue of the Reaper code now in the Geth systems."

"We will initiate a system purge to remove the virus and establish a firewall similar to what Müller-Colonel had prior to the system updates he received in 2183." Legion pulled out the projection from his palm to show a demonstration of the Geth base.

"Hold on, how do you know about those firewalls? And how do you plan to use a copy of the firewalls when mine won't work anymore?" Fredrick interrupted.

"The Heretics during the same year had acquired scannings of your rig at the time for further analysis. After they had rejoined the consensus the year prior, they shared the data with us. While we had managed to rectify a prototype copy, we were unable to properly distribute by the time the Quarian fleets began their attack."

Garrus gave a puzzled look. "I thought the Geth were looking to advance their future?"

"Correct. We had formed a consensus as to which would prove the better alternative, using the upgrade code or the firewall. Your arrest the year prior helped provide a greatly slanted outcome in favor of the firewall. Once the purge is complete, the firewall should be easily installed, preventing such control from the Old Machines in the future."

"That's a relief," Shepard commented. "C'mon, we'll head back to the _Normandy_ and ship back out again for the Reaper. We've wasted enough time here talking as is."

* * *

 **01 hrs/01 min/50 sec**

 **SSV _Normandy_ cargo hold, in orbit over Rannoch**

Fredrick barely left the shuttle after they landed. He was exhausted and simply closed his eyes using his rifle as a prop. He cherished any wink of sleep he could get in recent days to keep his strength up. He would just turn up the music on his integral helmet headphones, shut his eyes, and enjoy the soothing empty blackness that ensued. He did notice as the shuttle began to shake again and take back off out to Rannoch below to the coordinates Legion had provided.

Waking up, he turned off the sound in his helmet to hear the others. The plan was simple: get in, bait the Harvester out, and let the fleet bomb it to dust. Koris had safely returned to his post and was receiving minor medical treatment for his injuries. Legion would be depending on the others to quietly slip by defenses and get an escape vehicle to avoid the risk of friendly fire. "Admiral Xen, this is Commander Shepard. We're heading out to the given coordinates. Do you copy?"

 _Affirmative, commander. We've got visual on your vessel. It's good to know your Geth unit is still willing to cooperate,_ Xen answered.

"Legion's not your toy, remember? Anyways, we'll be calling out its location from where we are once we get to a safe distance. Once the Reaper's down, we'll have Legion try to establish coms with the other Geth. Out."

"I hope this works," Fred hummed. Destroyer-class Harvesters weren't even a tenth of the more common dreadnought-class Harvesters, and had limited barriers and firepower as a result. It definitely wouldn't last as long as Nazara did at the Citadel, but it was still a gamble with the already weakened Migrant Fleet. The next half-hour dragged on before they were finally dropped off on a cliff overlooking the base below.

"I... I can't believe it," Tali stuttered as they looked at the view around them. "I don't think it's sunk in yet. This is the homeworld. My homeworld. The sky, the rock formations... our ancestors used to write poems about them."

"We get this done right, maybe you'll write new ones," Shepard encouraged, giving the Quarian a pat on the back.

"Yeah, I mean... this is Rannoch. The planet our ancestors carried the seeds that spread the desert grass... The saying 'Keelah se'lai'? Well... the best translation I could give is 'In the name of the homeworld I hope to see again one day.' Maybe I'll put the living room window right here somewhere. It'd be good to pay homage to this day." Tali took a pose like a photographer, putting her fingers in the shape of a rectangle as she looked on at the horizon.

Garrus let out a chuckle. "Invite us all over someday. I'd like to see it."

Shepard walked up behind Tali. "I see what you mean. The Quarians have spent long enough as nomads that simply coming back here has become integral with their culture. Hell, there's been a general theme of 'returning', right? The fanfare and all about going out on pilgrimage, coming back with a gift to help your people, even leaving and returning to the fleet. 'I travel among the stars, but I'll always return home'?"

"We can spend more time imagining our future when we've won the battle before," Javik reminded. "Besides, our comrades still depend on us."

They made their approach to the South side of the building and were quickly engaged by the perimeter defenses of the base. As the Geth defenses fortified on the first level, they were quickly forced to take a detour over the base through various surprisingly minimalist structures of pipes and other unprotected machinery. The base itself was formed much like a sports stadium with large walls surrounding an open center. As they cleared the outer ring of the base, they watched as a large hole peering deeper into the facility had an enormous blast door close over it. _Shepard-Commander, the Geth have initiated defensive measures around the Old Machine._

Linda cursed under her breath. "The _Normandy_ 's not breaking through that before the Geth form a proper defense. Have any other options, Legion?"

 _I have located an override control overlooking the center of the base East of your location. Sending the coordinates. Will need your assistance to establish uplink. Proceed with caution: the Old Machine upgrades do provide increased aim capability._

"More Geth dropping onto the platform!" Javik warned, returning fire as another Geth platoon blocked their short, their venture further around the Geth base had been like every encounter with hostile Geth before it: keeping on their toes, watching every angle going forward to avoid being flanked by the numerous platforms present, work together to take down priority targets before picking off lone soldiers. Geth generally weren't a serious threat alone and could be easily dealt with if a team was coordinated. Even when they finally reached the override and had to hold off three entrances, the Geth found it difficult to overrun their position. The main problem in combating Geth was when they deployed numerous 'large' units, like when they rode an elevator off the platform the override was located on to advance towards another position to get a line of sight for the targeting laser needed to get the coordinates for the EDI to get a lock.

Tali narrowly rolled into cover before deploying her attack drone. "Geth primes! Looks like they really don't want us here!"

There were three Geth prime. Three of the fuckers stomping down on their position, two with LMGs and the third with an RPG. Rolling into cover, Fredrick checked his rifle for a full clip before dropping a nanite barrier, charging in close to hastily drop the prime's shields, then switched out for his blade, leaping up, grabbing onto its shoulder, pulling him onto its back, drawing the blade across its neck, and tearing its head clean from the body before it collapsed onto the ground. Quickly finishing it off with a few additional bursts, he dropped the barrier once more and began to assist against the prime with the rocket launcher. Javik just had his shields dropped and was forced to take cover as LMG rounds pelted his armor. Another rocket was launched before Fredrick biotically yanked it sharply to the left, causing it to loop back and hit the prime on the side. Dropping its barriers, Garrus rose from cover and blew its head off with a single shot. Tali slid under the last, wedging a grenade between its ankle plating. Watching as it fell over helplessly flailed its leg stump, she casually walked up and shot three bursts into its chest.

 _We detect no additional Geth forces in your near vicinity,_ Legion informed. _We recommend haste. The Geth will overrun the Creator fleet if you do not sever the connection._

They continued down the balcony overlooking the hole from earlier. Linda drew out her weapon and tapped a laser sight on the side. "EDI, I've got a fix on that Reaper. You getting this?"

 _Coordinates received, Shepard. We recommend you reach a minimal safe distance._ The group slowly walked back the other way, but were sharply shaken off their feet when the ensuing explosion the _Normandy_ launched shook the balcony, chipping away at the last of the supports and dropping them several meters down to the base of the hole.

Fredrick was the first to rise back up, dusting himself off. "'We don't use windows because they're a structural weakness.' Structural weakness my ass," he grumbled. He was also the first to witness the foot of the destroyer rise above them and land not a couple of meters from where they were.

Legion showed up shortly afterwards in another hijacked Geth fighter. "Shepard-Commander! We have transportation!"

"Okay people, this is it! Tali! Call the fleet!" Shepard ordered. Hoping on, Fredrick took the targeting laser, Linda the gunner turret, and everyone else the few other seats present. Legion took the controls and flew them over the nearby hills with the Harvester close on their tails.

 _This is Admiral Gerrel. We've got a fix on your location. State the target!_ one of the admirals responded.

Fred had his eyes still down the laser, aiming for the hull above the 'head' of the beast. "This is Colonel Müller calling in fire mission. Destroyer-class Harvester, thirty-seven degrees to the North of East, two hundred and fifty-nine meters, danger close."

 _Copy that, colonel. Target locked and firing for effect. Splash in twelve seconds. Get clear._

Legion continued to get distance on the Harvester before streaks of red from orbit arced down from the sky, driving large holes through its armor. Smoke and red energy spewed from its body as it came crashing down from the ground.

"Legion, pull over. We're heading in to finish it off," Linda ordered. "EDI, get the Quarian fleet to prepare another run on that thing. This ends now."

He ran out with the targeting laser still in hand as the destroyer continued to stir. It stumbled back up and unleashed its primary weapon, sending long beams grazing past him. Easily dodging incoming fire, he kept the laser on target for the Migrant Fleet to perform another. "Need another barrage, adjusting coordinates. One hundred and seventy five meters, seventy-one degrees North of West, fire single barrage, HE." Roughly thirty shots answered, causing it to stumble. "Target. Mark it for the rest of the fleet. Fire for effect." Another few beams of energy rolled lazily by as he lept for cover, left in the open, the Harvester had no more protection against the bombardment of fire from the skies. The air was filled with smoke and dust as the Quarians laid waste to the enemy below. It looked to the sky one more time before another dozen heavy rounds rained down upon it, before it came to a halt at the cliff overlooking it.

Had it been anyone else, it would've been like a hero approaching Mt. Olympus of Greek mythology. For Fredrick, it was just another man as he hopped down and walked to the dying Harvester on foot, giving its main 'eye' a firm look. _**"Müller."**_

 _"Yeah yeah, what else is new?"_ he answered nonchalantly.

 _ **"Harbinger speaks of your efforts. You may have w-"**_

 _"How about you shut the fuck up and accept how illogical this cycle is in accomplishing anything you profess yourselves to be?"_ he interrupted. _"I mean, you clearly find me to be a wrench in your plans, considering how often your forces have targeted me over the likes of everyone else present on the field. Even Shepard."_

It answered, _**"She and the others are puny, insignificant, and you know it."**_

 _"You do realize that saying 'we're bigger' is a ploy that gets old quickly, right? I mean, I find these few times you do talk with me so trivial now that the only thing the rest of you can think of is recorded on a few hundred megabites of storage. Shit, I remember the few times I did talk with Nazara were much more meaningful than this, and that dumb motherfucker was the most arrogant of all of you if I understand most of you well enough. Now, why don't you tell Harbinger to maybe get in contact with me at some point so we could work out a better way for this cycle to work."_

 _ **"...Do you really think your...?"**_

 _"-Oh for fuck's sake."_ Fredrick leveled the laser with the Harvester one more time before adding, _"Know what? Change of plans. Tell Nazara to call me more often. In fact, tell him to prepare a game of chess for us when I do catch up to the rest of you in hell. He's dumb, but he's at least more interesting than you would ever be."_

He lept up to the cliff where the others watched from above as another small barrage destroyed what remained of the destroyer-class. "The Reaper code has finally been removed from the consensus," Legion reported. "On a side note, you share an interesting antagonism with the Old Machines, Müller-Colonel."

"I'm not even going to ask if you understood and how. What's the situation in orbit?" Fredrick replied.

"Not good. The tide has greatly turned and the Migrant fleet is quickly overrunning the Geth fleets," Tali groaned, looking away from her omnitool.

"We are faced with a similar scenario," Legion commented. "We are attempting to convince the others to send a request for a treaty. They refuse."

"Dammit!" Shepard cursed. "I can't believe-! Get me on both lines, they have to hear us! Admirals, what's going on up there?!" She instantly flinched as she heard the rush of various Quarian voices, all bickering.

"I thought Koris would convince them!" Tali growled.

"Shepard-Commander! We require your answer!"

"Allow me, I'd like to share a few words with both sides. As to whether they'll listen... I'll try..." Fredrick changed the frequency on his radio to allow both sides to hear him and vastly turned up receiving volume on his helmet microphone. "Geth and Quarian alike, heed my warning. The Harvester enemy present is dead, yet you continue your meaningless conflict. I know of the context that has led to this war before us. I understand both sides fight for the future of their race on this planet. I understand the meaning of winning this small conflict right here, but can you not for once turn outward to look upon the rest of the galaxy as it burns? Are we not all fighting for pure survival at this point? Are the Harvesters not going to hunt us all down regardless? Do not be so short sighted and drill yourselves into extinction. We will all fade to dust if we do not forget this conflict and rebuild bridges we burned long ago. The galaxy will call for all of us in its darkest hour. Do not waste yourselves."

Tali gave a wide eyed glance as she acknowledged, "Well, at least you got everyone to shut up."

"We have also noticed a significant drop in inter-vessel bandwidth use between Geth processes," Legion added.

A long silence followed. The tension was so thick it could be cut with a laser saw... lengthwise. _All forces, this is Admiral Raan. Cease fire. The Terran's point stands._

"The Geth have agreed to cease fire. We grant our thanks, Müller-Colonel. We will be uploading our firewall shortly," Legion reported. "Furthermore, the Geth are willing to initiate negotiations for repopulation on Rannoch."

An air of victorious relief passed over them. For the first time in three centuries, numerous Quarian vessels landed in the distance alongside Geth constructs with neither firing upon each other. Tali and Legion quickly joined the others as their respective races finally reunified under a single banner. Fredrick sat down on the cliffside, looking on at the sunrise in the distance. Exhaustion began to retake him, and he warmly accepted the silent invitation as he lay back on the ground, arms stretched out like bird's wings. "What are you doing?"

His eyes slightly opened to see Javik and Garrus looking at him. "Getting some shut eye. Now go away and wake me in six months."

"Like that?" Garrus asked, raising a brow.

"You do realize these suits are comfortably padded on the inside, right?" the Terran asked.

The Prothean followed with, "And what of your body? We are not dragging you back to the ship."

"Just wake me when we're ready to leave. Now go away and let me rest." The last thing he saw before darkness wrapped around him was the morning sky above.


	13. Chapter 13: Date Night

Chapter 13: Date Night

 _It almost feels like years since we've been able to take a rest. Due to the endless demand of this war, we have barely taken time for shore leave, as were constantly on the move. I suspect it very much would've been the same if I stayed with the Terran fleet, constantly kiting endless fleets of Harvester ships. Fortunately, Captain Anderson leant his apartment to Shepard, and she's decided we all deserve a good few days off before our next assignment. The day till we deploy the Crucible draws close and while I desperately kick myself for letting my guard down, what's the harm in having a night or two of pure fun?_

* * *

 **July 1, 2186**

 **14 hrs/02 min/00 sec**

 **Presidium, Citadel Station**

Fredrick waited patiently at the base of the Citadel tower while Shepard continued to hold out against the barrage from the council. By now, he was denied any direct interaction with the council members due to having shot both Tevos and Sparatus, and threatening Valern with a shot dangerously close to his head until after the war had completely concluded. Then again, he wasn't entirely enthusiastic about dealing with their bullshit either, even if they were at his mercy at that range. Politics aside, he did have plans for tonight that he did not want to waste. His fingers scrambled over his omnitool before he looked up to see Shepard, Garrus, Ashley, and Wrex walk from the elevator to his position. "I assume it went well?"

"It's a shame you can't come up anymore. Despite what we've accomplished, they sure as hell don't feel like acting grateful," Linda sighed. "Still, I'm delaying our mission to collect a package on Thessia until after our break. Moral is at a low and we're all in need of a rest."

"I assume you did tell Valern to give the Dalatress my regards?" He had told her to pass on the message to the Salarian councilor that if the Dalatress was fuming due to his intervention, that she should break her horns off at their bases and shove them up her ass. He felt the old hag was a fool and was unfit to make any sort of decisions amidst a military setting.

"She did. I was... unaware of her proposition..." Wrex answered, grumbling quietly.

"You know she won't respond well to that," Garrus reiterated from before the meeting.

Fredrick had easily dismissed the proposition of a threat from the Salarian leader. "If she is dumb enough to even consider throwing assassins at me, I'll deal with her after the war is over."

Linda couldn't be bothered anymore. "Look, I've dealt with too much bullshit leading up to now. If you need her to die, do what you will. Last I checked, you're behind on your execution quota anyways."

The five parted, though Ashley quickly caught up to Fred. "Is it set?"

"Yeah, I've got reservations just for us out on the Presidium," he chuckled, putting an arm around her. "After that, I've got a tickets to a nearby theater."

"Can't imagine it was cheap."

"I've still got some expendable income. The Republic didn't suspend my accounts when I got arrested," he explained. "I've still got a few things to get for tonight. I'll see you back at the apartment."

As she went on her way, he began his return to the _Normandy_ to fetch his footlocker. Everyone else had moved their belongings temporarily to Anderson's apartment after they arrived on the Citadel. After that, he'd be getting a glass of wine to bring on the way to dinner. Hastily strolling back up the docking bridge, he impatiently waited through the decontamination cycle and ran back to the elevator to the medbay. Opening the lock, he pulled out his old officer uniform. "Been a while, huh?" he muttered to himself. It was slightly wrinkled from the last time he'd worn it some unknown time ago.

Picking up his footlocker, he hastily headed off to a nearby laundromat, and paid the fee to run a load for his uniform. While the half-hour passed, he quickly ran to the nearest winery to buy a bottle. A short while later he returned with a bag in one hand and his other swinging freely, his sharp smile was still plastered to his face. Putting the bottle down for a moment, his smile quickly faded as he peered into the washing machine. His hands shook as he pulled out his now ruined officer shirt. The gray was now unevenly distributed, with splotches of white intermixed with patches of dark gray. Beginning to panic, he quickly looked back into his footlocker for the second-most formal article of clothing he posed. The first thing he saw as he pulled the lid off was his helmet's visor, peering right back at him.

* * *

 **16 hrs/49 min/07 sec**

 **Anderson's apartment, Citadel Station**

She trembled as she saw herself in the mirror. Ashely felt so out of place as she stared back at her reflection. She wore a long blue sleeveless dress with white embroidering and a Systems Alliance emblem on her right breast. Feeling it was too much trouble, she left off the makeup and wore a necklace her mother gave her a year before she enlisted in the marine corps. On the underside of her dress, strapped to her leg was a holster with the M1911 that Fredrick had gifted her. "Hey Skipper, how do I look?"

Linda simply raised a brow as she looked back from the kitchen. "Ashe, you're fine. I'm still wearing this piece of shit that Kasumi got for me last year when I had to help her with her gray box." Her CO wore a ridiculously short black dress that just came short of her knees along with small red stripes that lead from her hips downward. "Besides, he's taking his time. You've got this in the bag, Ashley."

She let out a sigh to relax herself. "Okay... got it... You heading out to meet Garrus?"

"No, Joker invited me for sushi. Wanted to talk about something." The two were interrupted by a ring at the doorbell.

"About time. Where's _he_ been?" She opened the door to find Fredrick in a full suit of armor, with his footlocker and rifle in one hand and a bag with wine in the other hand. He otherwise still had his

"Suit got ruined in the wash. This is the best I had. I hope you're fine with..." His voice trailed off as he struggled to think of an appropriate response to her appearance.

She smiled as she hugged him, silencing him. "You're fine. Had you let me know you were wearing your armor, I'd have done the same. You have no clue how much I hate this dress, and I haven't even gotten started on the high-heels."

"Have fun, you two. I need to get going." Linda bit back a chuckle as she walked by.

"Right. Shall we?"

Fredrick put aside his footlocker and rifle and took her hand as they left the apartment block to a taxi nearby. Leading her down along the water, he guided her to an open patio restaurant, it's lights illuminating the dark night. He left his helmet to the side as they continued their banter, retelling tales of what the other missed during the few years prior. The time seemed to blaze by as conversation turned to dinner. After the bill was paid, he walked out, with a now half-empty bottle of wine in the bag. Putting his helmet down, he lifted her up into the air, holding her in his arms so she looked at him with a level view. "So, what's the film?"

"Something smooth and calm, not as intense as these last couple of months have been. Something to just put our minds off the war. Maybe talk about afterwards."

"You already thinking about that?"

"No, not really. I've been so afraid of bringing anyone too close for too long. But after meeting you and the others, keeping myself in a void is just starting to hurt more than loss is. Having you... it feels fulfilling..." He began to draw her towards him, preparing to meet their lips when suddenly, something in his peripheral vision caught his attention.

Jerking their heads apart, a sniper round pierced through the thin night air, narrowly passing them and shattering the bottle of wine he had in his hand. Diving backwards into cover, he used his biotics to jerk his helmet to his hand. "Well, it wouldn't be a day without someone trying to kill us, huh?" she groaned, aching slightly from the impact.

A few nearby pedestrians began to run and scream in panic. "Don't worry, I saw where he was." Fredrick handed her the helmet and told her, "Wear this for now and keep down. I'll get him and try to pry some answers." Initiating his cloak, he broke cover and dashed across a bridge to the other side of the Presidium. Rolling into cover, he hastily disabled his cloak and drew his pistol and particle blade. Taking some time to catch his breath, he lept onto a ledge and pulled himself over the balcony wall and yanked down the sniper from his perch to the ground, yielding a painful crunch as his assailant's legs hit the ground. Dragging him back to the other side of the bridge and yanking off the attacker's helmet to reveal the young attacker's face. Fredrick put his blade to his neck before demanding, "I've got a hundred ways of killing you and ninety-eight of them are painful. Talk."

"I'm not telling shi- **AAAAAAAHHH!** " The assassin was sharply interrupted as Fredrick put his blade through his shin guard and jerked hard to the left.

"Talk!"

"Y-you have no idea..." the assassin grunted painfully.

"Fine, we'll do this the old fashion way." He picked up their left arm and stripped away the armor with his blade. Ignoring his painful groans, Fred cut a line around the base of his forearm, a line from the elbow to the wrist, then peeled off the skin with the omnitool still intact. The screams were only cut short when Ashley put a single round through his forehead. Quickly ripping as many files regarding addresses and contact information as he could from the omnitool before the loss of vital signs caused the omnitool's security systems to lock down.

"You'll need the helmet. It's nice, but it's a tad bit heavy, and it won't do much to protect my body," Ashley said, handing back his helmet.

"Thanks. I guess we should head back. I don't k-"

He was interrupted by a call from his omnitool. _Fredrick, come in. It's Wrex._

"What's going on? We were just attack as we left a restaurant," he quickly answered.

 _We all were. Right now, I'm with Shepard and Vakarian back to the apartment. So far, she says someone is trying to steal her identity, though I'm not sure why. You should hurry back before more of them show up._

"Fredrick! We've got to go now!" Ashley yelled, gesturing to three more shuttles appearing just down the walkway, deploying some two dozen more armored mercenaries, in full urban camo. Their armor was bulky and somewhat rounded, but didn't resemble anything manufactured for Cerberus. Their helmets resembled Russian tanker caps, down to the grooves along the head.

Getting to a sprint, he hastily answered, "We're on our way!" Putting up a barrier behind them he could hear the shots graze the wall as he attempted to squeeze off a few shots behind them. Rushing over to an empty, idling hovercar, Ashley jumped on the wheel while Fredrick provided cover fire from shotgun. They drove like madmen, leaving the unidentified mercenaries in the distance.

* * *

 **19 hrs/28 min/42 sec**

 **Shepard's apartment, Citadel Station**

Fredrick watched nervously out the apartment window, with his rifle in hand, eyes scanning the Citadel sprawl for the smallest sign of activity outside. While the outing wasn't entirely ruined, the fact that someone was trying to steal Shepard's "identity" was infuriating enough given the state of current galactic affairs. While she had been helpful with providing insight to what was happening, some itch at the back of his mind screamed Maya Brooks was a potential suspect, or at least a companion to the suspect. It was all too convenient she showed up seconds before the mercenaries showed up. "CAT6" they were called: a group of men and women who were dishonorably discharged from the Alliance Navy. He'd already displayed his opinion on the matter: none of them would leave the Citadel alive unless they surrendered when given the option.

Liara was working busily away on the living room couch, sifting through names and messages, occasionally speaking to some morphed voice over a call to tug some strings. Linda and Garrus looked over her shoulder worryingly, with eyes that scampered back and forth like a student who failed to remember some key aspect during an exam. The broker would occasionally pass a datapad back to them for them to read, chattering viciously. Eventually, they beckoned him to come forward. "Müller, we've got a lead. A few days before our return to the Citadel, a casino owner by the name of Elijah Khan had ordered a large shipment of weapons and equipment. Unfortunately, he's not the end-goal here. Fortunately, he's tied into this, and I need to worm past him to ask a few questions. The rest of us will be going in with formal dress to crack security and get past his guards. I doubt he'll want to talk in person."

Fredrick took note of the words "the rest of us" and shifted uncomfortably as a result. "What do you need me for, then?"

Garrus started, "Well... you see... we need a distraction."

* * *

 **20 hrs/12 min/38 sec**

 **Silver Coast Casino**

He greatly regretted asking. Still in full armor and with his rifle slung onto his back, he stood in front of a slot machine, checking in another few credits for another roll. While Shepard and the others broke in, his job was to distract security by being the most obnoxious guest possible. Walking back and forth across the casino floor, he played the various games on offer, gave a few people menacing silent stares through his visor, and generally ket a silent attitude. After brushing past the front lobby, simply paying the fee and walking in no questions asked, he just played, and he played, and he played.

Gambling was an overrated "sport", and it bored him to the point where he had plenty of time to work the statistics in his head. So far, his odds were laughably low, and not even adjusting modifiers to take into account changing the behaviors around him by acting more suspicious was going to help. At some point, a guard simply approached him while he was playing a game of roulette. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

He calmly looked at the small guard. "Why?" he asked in the most dull, monotone voice he could utter.

"You're making some of the other guests uncomfortable."

"I'm just playing the game. Besides, have you seen how many credits I've sunk into this place?"

The guard simply looked to his nearby colleagues nervously. "Look, I jus-"

"Can it. I'm not looking to start trouble, and neither should you. Now leave me to drown in my pain and go bother someone else."

"I- that's not an option, sir. You're not exactly up to the dress code, either."

"Look, I'm sorry, but I spilled something nasty on my best suit, and this was the best I had. Everything else I have is designer casual wear. Besides, what's that on your shirt?" Fredrick put his index finger up against the man's chest, pointing at nothing in particular.

"Wha-?" The guard looked down, only to cup his nose in pain as the Terran's index finger was brought sharply up, hitting the underside of his nose.

"Hah, made you look." His focus quickly returned to the game in front of him.

He checked back at his omnitool for the time. A measly fifteen minutes had passed since he had arrived separately from the others. For what culture had built up gambling to be, it was absurdly boring. Perhaps it was on the account of how he was more used to the experience of risking physical life and limb in his field of work opposed to all of his earnings, and what he was used to infinitely eclipsed what he was experiencing. By now, seven guards approached him, with more stern looks. "Sir, it's time for you to leave."

He childishly stuck a clenched fist towards the front of the group. "C'mon you, how 'bout a game of rock-paper-scissors?"

He looked about hesitantly at his colleagues before silently accepting the challenge. Counting to three, the guard won, throwing a scissors at Fred's rock. "There, you happy?"

"Hold the fuck up, that was just deciding who goes first." Fredrick drew his pistol, leveled the gun with the side of his helmet and fired. His armor was heavily resistant to particle weaponry, but not immune, subsequently leaving a small dent in the side. Pulling the gun away, he flipped the gun around in his hand to give the guard the gun handle. "Your turn."

The guards simply stared back at him. "Sir, just leave."

"I thought we're playing Russian roulette. I went, now it's your turn."

"Sir, we've asked you multiple-!" A calamity broke out among the group, which Fredrick mentally muted out. Looking into the distance, he saw Shepard and the others heading for the exit.

"Fine, I'm busting out of this flytrap, have fun with my money," he interrupted. He suddenly stood up and walked to the door, tailing the others closely. "That was _not_ one of my proudest moments."

Shepard sighed. "Well, it unfortunately didn't pay off by much. Elijah's dead, and EDI's currently parsing out a few calls, trying to get a source as to where they came from."

Maya raised a hand and informed, "Okay, I think I've got something now. Your Specter codes have just been used in the archives. We should head there to investigate."

A wave of groans let out across the team. "This was a waste of fucking tiiiiiiime..." Wrex signed.

"Well, we're not doing anything standing here. Let's go," Kaidan agreed. The team quickly returned to the apartment to suit up before Steve drove them to the archives. In three hovercars, Linda, Fredrick, Wrex, Ashley, Garrus, Kaidan, Tali, EDI's body, Brooks, Liara, Steve, Javik, and James drove to the lower levels of the Citadel.

"Brooks, I'm confident that it'd be better if we entered quietly. There's no need to let them know of our presence, and there's god-knows how many of them down there." Fredrick was the only one objecting to Maya's ideas at this point. He had become increasingly suspicious of her, given the increasing number of conveniences and dead ends she was leading them into.

"Fine, I'll take point," Wrex replied, planting the charges on the floor hatch to the archives. "Heads up." Just seconds after the explosive device detonated, Wrex jumped right into the smoke. Gradually, the others filed in with Fredrick taking up the rear.

Not thirty seconds after jumping down, at least a dozen laser sights set on them from the shadows. "Get to cover!" Shepard ordered.

Cloaking, Fredrick simply jumped up and climbed into the rafters. From above, he didn't have much in the way of cover, but neither did the enemy mercenaries he was shooting at. He still maintained a level of caution about him as he avoided the rafters with their supports shot out. Edging along, his priority was the snipers towards the back of the second level, giving the others the opportunity to advance. Helping to pick off the last survivors, he quietly wandered above in search for survivors of the first wave. Slowly walking towards the others, he noticed they had all dropped their weapons, being surrounded by the next wave of troops with their leader in the center.

Quietly creeping closer under the veil of his cloak, he didn't bother listening to the assailant's long barrage of insults as she kept Brooks at gunpoint within her grasp. His rifle was still drawn and his sights were planted right on the leader's shadow-covered head. As the mysterious identity thief walked into the light, he began to hesitate as her face was revealed. It was a clone of Shepard, having been grown during the Lazarus Project to provide new organs and tissue for the then killed Commander Shepard. After having been mysteriously withdrawn as a resource, she quickly learned the basics to being "Human" from neural implants.

For a moment, he contemplated the numerous occasions when he was younger when Andrew was still alive and he looked in the mirror. While the scars were clearly different, he took notice of the genetic similarities in form between himself and the man his body was based upon. "...wait a second, where's the Terran?" the clone spat. It was equally surprising to hear it in Shepard's voice, but he quickly made his decision. The clone had their coms with the _Normandy_ compromised, and everyone down below was still in a spot of trouble. Holstering his rifle, he lept over the railing, and used his biotics to charge towards the ground, denting the floor and releasing a shock in all directions around him, tossing both Shepard's squad and the clone's squad to the floor.

Long tendrils of black, crystal-like metal grew from his arms as the CAT6 mercenaries recovered. One started firing at him before his arm was cut off in a single swing. Another guard found a nanite blade lodged in his throat before crumpling onto the ground in a pool of his blood. Fredrick lept over another, cutting the mercenary's head in half and landed between two more, stabbing both in their hands and forcing them to drop their weapons. Drawing his blades back, he stabbed both in the chest as he turned to look at the sixth. He grabbed the sixth's head and smashed it against the ground like an egg as he hook kicked the gun out of the seventh's hands. Finally, he stood at full height as he drew his hand back, retracted the nanites, and rammed a fist, full speed clean through their head. Drawing his side arm, he narrowly missed the clone as she scampered away, barking orders over her omnitool.

The real Linda picked up her shotgun and rushed over to Brooks' side. Getting back to her feet, the latter thanked the Terran, saying, "Good timing, colonel. Come on, commander! We can't let her escape!"

The others began to follow suit, but Fredrick continued to object. "Shepard, wait! I know the clone may still be at large, but her end goal is obvious!"

"Müller, there's no time!" Linda argued. "If she has access to my Specter codes right now, there's no knowing what else she'll try to accomplish while she's still here on the Citadel!"

"That's not the point!" he barked. "She simply working a diversion right now. I don't know the exact layout of CAT6 positions right now, but I can assure you that she's got an ambush ahead, and will try to kill us all, or at least rope us up for long enough to take the _Normandy._ It's obvious!"

"We can confirm your suspicions when we capture her!" Maya retorted.

He had it with her. "You know what's suspicious? Your behaviors, Maya. You've been the one providing the vast majority of the intel so far, and so far the clone has been a step ahead of us this entire time!"

"Save the chatter, Müller! We have to go now!" Linda and the others sprinted off, but he lingered behind, watching as they disappeared around the corner.

As brilliant a leader as she was, she wasn't taking the necessary time to think about who was trying to steal her identity. It was a clone of herself, meaning that if they somehow failed, no one could tell the difference once she entirely replaced the original. This, along with the jammed communications with the _Normandy_ meant that whatever the clone was trying to do down in the archives, she wanted the crew back at the ship to remain oblivious to until it was too late. To replace the original would mean to take everything that is essential to maintaining her "new" identity. He turned a one-eighty and ran for the entrance.

* * *

 **21 hrs/30 min/36 sec**

 _ **Normandy**_ **dock, Citadel Station**

As was easily predicted, the _Normandy_ was now crawling with the CAT6 mercenaries they'd been crawling through up until now. Much to his bitter disappointment, a shuttle landed nearby with the clone onboard and none other than Maya Brooks. It was pretty obvious she was tied into this somehow, and wasn't so surprising that she was actually the leader of the operation. Getting onboard would be a piece of cake, but where were the others? He desperately called them a few times, with no response following.

He eyed a nearby security terminal, and the nearest patrol of mercenaries. It would be a risk, considering he never interfaced with something as vast as the Citadel before, but if he really was turning into a Harvester, than it should be in theory no physical pressure on his part. He hooked up and b _egan to peer around using the security cameras and other integral monitoring devices. Shepard and the others were nowhere to be seen on the streets or anywhere approaching the_ Normandy _. Looking at his new set of toys, he found a biosign scan of the entire station. He started with the archives he had left earlier, in case they were somehow trapped down there._

 _Unfortunately, there were still too many blips wandering the lower levels. Undoubtedly, those were all Keepers, performing their endless maintenance. He tightened the search scope a bit further by removing signs of semi-synthetic lifeforms, to reveal a cluster of nine. Checking the section, the area was composed of a large number reenforced, high security vaults meant for locking away valuable assets. Peering into the vault internal security cameras, he found all nine of the squad split into two pods, waiting around helplessly._

 _He accessed the microphone and began to speak. "Commander, is that you down there?" They began to search the room, puzzled as to where the voice came from. "Up here, the cameras."_

 _Linda's view snapped onto the aforementioned security devices within the vault. "Who are you?"_

 _"The surprisingly valuable deus ex machina that's been following you for the last few years. I see you're all in a predicament right now."_

 _"Right," Wrex grumbled as he stood up. "So you just going to watch and crack jokes or what?"_

 _As an act of pure will, the vaults began to shift. From another camera, he watched as the vaults were moved to the access platform. "You should hurry, your clone is gaining access to the_ Normandy _. Head back here as fast as you can and... try not to fall for dumb shit next time..."_

 _"Thanks. We'll get a move on." Linda visibly rolled her eyes before she stepped out of the vault. Satisfied with his work, he disconnected and retu_ ned his sight to the his immediate surrounding. That last neural access surprisingly wasn't too bad, as he suffered no immediate repercussions from disconnecting. Looking back, the mercenaries were beginning to load new crates onto the ship. He was running out of time and needed to act. Cloaking and running to a large crate, he pried the lid off to see a gun emplacement folded up inside. The crate was the size of a large oil drum, and was big enough to fit his size. Quietly lifting the gun up and throwing it off the side of the dock platform, he jump into the box and carefully put the lid back into place above him.

It was hypocritically dumb, betting his chances of infiltration on the stupidity of the mercenaries to rescue the _Normandy_. He waited patiently, hoping furiously for some guard to start pushing him inside. The crate shifted, swinging somewhat precariously as the guards outside lifted him up. "Christ, this is heavy! What's in here anyways?!" one bickered.

"Heavy weapons. Brooks says we'll need it."

"Given the weight, it's bound to do more harm than good."

"I get it. Now stop your bitching, and keep moving."


	14. Chapter 14: Retaliation and Recuperation

Chapter 14: A Moment of Peace

 _Can I truly hate her? The Shepard clone? Did I not feel that same level of depreciated self-worth, knowing my face was the physical copy of another before me? To know I had no future outside of what I was made for? Why did I spare her?_

* * *

 **July 1, 2186**

 **21 hrs/52 min/16 sec**

 **SSV _Normandy_ cargo hold**

He ignored the cramping in his back as he stood still like a statue. He could hear the mercenaries outside continuing to work away, carrying materials inside. Right now, the others needed him onboard and undetected, and he needed to wait until reinforcements arrived. Not that he couldn't pop out and take them all down one by one, but if the Shepard clone was as she described herself, she had the same set of abilities Linda had and almost the same skillset, too. Brooks was another thing to consider, in that he didn't know the full extent of her capabilities, and that for all he knew, she was packing a very similar loadout.

Out in the distance, he could hear traces of gunfire. Had his friends arrived, or were those just local C-Sec officers coming to investigate? He could hear the mercenaries outside rushing to meet whoever it was approaching the _Normandy_. Peaking from inside, he looked around the hanger area before fully climbing out like a butterfly from its cocoon. He calmly strode to the elevator and thumbed the button to the CIC. He drew his rifle and quickly swapped the battery for a fresh one before the elevator doors swooped open to reveal two CAT6 mercenaries.

They both drew their weapons as one of them barked, "Hey! You're not supposed to be here!"

He simply looked back without bothering to raise his rifle. "I'm looking for your commanders. Can I speak with them?" he demanded in a cold, calculating tone.

"How about we pitch your body out of the cargo hold as we take off?" the other merc growled.

"Then allow me to propose two offers for you two and all the others present on this ship," he chuckled. "First, you can drop your weapons and leave this ship. You will not suffer any repercussions and you will live to see tomorrow. Alternatively, you can start shooting and condemn yourselves, your commanders, and your colleagues. Those who survive my onslaught shall be granted a death far beyond the definitions of 'cruel and unusual'. I recommend you start informing the others about the first offer and turning on the safeties of both of your weapons. Someone could get hurt."

They both seemed to tremble where they stood, fighting to keep their rifles level. One let out a lengthy scream as he held down the trigger and emptied the entire clip onto Fred's nanite shield. Faster than either of them could respond, his black form took on spiky form like a porcupine before charging at them with a biotic thrust. The one to the left was completely dismembered upon impact in a flash of red and armor pieces while the other was crushed against the wall, with long blades of black pinning him to the surface behind him. As the foolish mercenary went through his death throes, Fredrick glanced over at the next set of mercenaries, having exited the barracks to investigate the commotion.

* * *

 **SSV _Normandy_ CIC**

"No one will mention this to anyone. Got it?" Linda took point as she crawled through the vent, taking point back into _her_ ship.

Close behind her was everyone else, filling through the small hole back into the _Normandy_ with the exception of EDI, who had been left deactivated in the hovercar that crash-landed getting there. In the meantime, Steve had ran off to get a shuttle to try and prevent the _Normandy_ from taking off. Wrex was especially uncomfortable with the current situation, as the vent was especially small for him. "Does anyone even know where Müller is? He said he was here, didn't he?"

"Maybe he's already inside, killing all of them. It'd at least save the rest of us the trouble," Tali suggested.

"You're forgetting that cleaning up after him is going to be a total bitch," Kaidan reminded.

Liara was the third-to-last in, followed closely by Traynor and Joker. "Still, I've noticed that most damage he causes has minimal damage to the infrastructure, and it's not like cleaning up an otherwise horrifying mess is anything new or irreversible."

"I heard about Torfan... is there something I'm missing out about Lobo?" James asked from the middle of the pack.

"He's basically the terminator from those old vids," Jeff answered. "He's borderline impossible to reason with when he's set on killing you, has a very binary definition of who lives and who dies, is basically impossible to kill, and has a very creative library of methods on how to kill you. Either it's swift and generally clean, or he'll tear you apart like you fell into a manufacturing line, and the other workers are too slow to the emergency shut-off switch."

"I got the rest of that, but what's a terminator?" Wrex huffed.

"I'll show you afterwards. Maybe arrange a movie night." Linda punched open the end of the vent and lept out before narrowly rolling into cover, dodging enemy fire.

The mercenaries had previously been distracted before they turned sharply to face the original crew. "Shit! It's Shepard! Open fire!"

Linda provided covering fire as Wrex, Kaidan, and Garrus slowly crawled into the ship to join the fight. Noticing the door to the war room opening, Fredrick decloaked as he let loose upon the other mercenaries present with his particle rifle. Unsurprisingly, he was coated in crimson. "Shepard, I'm glad to see you made it. I've been clearing out the ship as much as I can. The crew deck and engineering have been cleared of hostiles. The clone and Brooks have retreated to the cargo hold for a final stand."

"Good. Anything else?" She was planning on having one last good time for herself and her team before she could die, and Brooks just had to ruin it. She wasn't particularly in the mood for letting Brooks get off the hook that easily.

"Well, I'd..." The ship began to shake as the vessel left the dock. "Shit, we should hurry and disable the pilot."

"Not while the door is locked," Tali mumbled, looking at the locked cockpit door.

"Tali, Wrex, Vega, Kaidan, get on that door, take down the pilot, and get Joker back in control. Everyone else, with me to the hanger. That bitch is not getting away with this." She eyed the box of her belongings outside of the elevator before stepping into the elevator.

"What does Maya hope to accomplish anyways?" Fredrick asked.

Garrus was the one to answer. "She was a former Cerberus agent who left the organization when she felt that Cerberus was deviating from its original cause when the Illusive Man considered bringing in other species onto the _Normandy_ when Linda was revived. Now, she's trying to accomplish her own pro-Humanity agenda by replacing Linda with someone she can control."

Fredrick didn't bother replying to Garrus' explanation. Not only was Brooks' decision completely unjustifiable, but she also had the stupidity to perform such an act during a time that would easily have resulted in extinction across the board. The galaxy needed them to lead the way, and her foolishness would not slip away. "Commander, I know you've always been bent on showing mercy to even the most wicked individuals the underside of this galaxy has to offer, but allow me to propose this. The damage this agent has caused today has threatened more than our lives alone. She does not leave this ship in anything more than a bodybag."

"Do what you will. If she doesn't see reason, I won't get in your way."

The doors opened up to reveal the clone stepping out into the open. Swapping out of the armor the mercenaries wore, the clone now had a full set of N7 armor. She began firing at them as they dove to cover. Narrowly dodging fire from the original, the clone barked, "Stop shooting up my ship!"

"It's not yours, bitch." Linda made a break from cover, creeping up to the clone's position.

"Yeah, well guess what? I've got your name, your Specter codes, and your prints!"

"You have nothing," Fredrick's voice boomed over the interior. "You're counting your eggs early. There's five of us and two of you. Your chances are increasingly slim."

The clone suddenly lept over a crate with an omnitool extended right at Linda. As Linda prepared to defend herself, a bubble of green energy wrapped itself around the clone and catapulted her across the room, painfully clanging against one of the support beams in the distance. Getting up from cover, Brooks returned fire upon the team. "Hatchet Squad advance! Take them down!"

Linda narrowly dodged a sniper round from the back of the bay. "Steve, get in front of the _Normandy_ and prevent them from getting sufficient altitude!"

Fredrick walked into the open, nanite shield fully extended around his body. He knew they had nowhere to hid, and opted to take his time as he selectively picked off the last of the CAT6 mercenaries. His hands grew into elongated talons as he continued to stride. Reaching a sufficient range, he flung one clean through the helmet of one soldier and the other through the slit in the shield of a heavy trooper. Using his biotics, he pressed a third against the ground as if gravity weighed him down. Yanking the forth forward with his biotics, he impaled the mercenary on a spike forming from his chest like a tower and stomped a spike through the third as he walked over him. Fredrick saw three more peak from cover and start shooting before their guns were yanked away. He lept forward and gutted each one like wild hunt, all the while the others maintained their pressure on the clone and Brooks.

The clone was starting to worry as she drew back into cover. She was running low on medigel, and the bastard had cut down seven men in the span of twenty one seconds. Having opened the cargo hold doors, a few men were initially ordered to try and help the pilot gun down the shuttle ahead of them, but were subsequently redirected to engaging the front before the Turian had shot all three from his vantage point. Right now, Brooks had been pinned down and she was left alone. Suddenly, Shepard dived at her, knocking her off her feet and onto the cargo hold ramp. The two continued to roll off until they were left hanging over the ledge, feet dangling over the Citadel below.

She looked over to where Brooks took cover, giving a stare begging for help. Brooks looked back, but was more concentrated on her own escape. Turning and initiating her cloak, she was suddenly met by the mailed fist of the Wolf, now unprotected by his inky black barrier. The Krogan and Turian rushed to Shepard's aid as Fredrick walked over to her, towering above her.

He looked down at the scared, unarmed clone at his feet. He knew the next action was obviously simple, but he continued to look back. He knew the legal regulations against cloned individuals and the red tape that ensued. Moreover, he knew that same look of jealousy she gave Linda every now and then as she continued to hang there, that secret glare he'd give Andrew from behind his visor, and increasingly so towards the end of the late doctor's life. "What? You expecting some pathetic last words?" she screeched.

Fredrick knew the answer all too well. "Out of all good reason, out of all good judgement and justice, I should kick you off right here, right now. But I know that feeling you get, feeling like you aren't so much a living being as you are a disposable piece of hardware, like any other gun, omnitool, or vessel. The real question is..." Unexpectedly – even to himself – he yanked the clone up by her collar and threw her down on the ramp before pinning her down by a boot to her back. "...are we really all that different? Hell judges us both the same, anyways."

Picking up and dragging along the clone by her suit collar, he did run a biometrics scan just to confirm it was indeed the clone. The main difference between the clone and the real Shepard was that the real one had much more extensive medical implants from her time in the Lazarus Project. The clone, however, was given many of the same combat implants save for the nanite glands. "So why the hell are you so special then? Why is _she_ so fucking special?"

"I'm not going to go chapter and verse regarding the philosophy over why Shepard is who she is, but I'm stating for the record that I'm just a weapon. A weapon that has built what can scarcely be considered a personality from my experiences on the field. From friends, enemies, loss, gain, and what I've decided to make of them. This will come to you eventually." Something didn't seem right about how he coined it. Perhaps it was on account of how tired he was by now, but his voice sounded somewhat monotone.

She stopped struggling in his grasp like a child who just realized he or she did something naughty. "I... I see... I'll think about that..."

"You'll have time. The war is still out there."

The fighting across the ship quickly drew to a close, the rest of the team gathered in cargo hold to discuss how the prisoners would be dealt with, and Steve landed the shuttle inside before closing the exterior doors. With Joker and EDI back at the helm of the _Normandy_ , they began their return to the docks for repair crews to resume clean up. The only survivors of the CAT6 were the pilot, the Shepard clone, and Brooks. The pilot and clone would be handled by local authorities while the Alliance offered to take Brooks to a high-security facility, though Shepard and the others were contemplating whether it would simply be safer to kill her right then and there, should Cerberus have a plan to permanently silence her using another sleeper agent. Ashley smirked at the former Cerberus agent's distasteful glare. "Good. Maybe we can get some dirt on Cerberus from her."

Brooks' face suddenly lit up and sarcastically retorted. "Oh, I'll gladly cooperate with the authorities."

"Until you escape," Linda hissed as she drew in close.

"Me? Escape? But I'm not a field agent," Brooks mocked.

"Just stop it with your shit. I'd be more willing to accept your capture if it weren't for the damn war going on right now."

"I was young and naive."

Linda's eyes slightly shifted to the side, looking at Fredrick before shifting back. "I'm going to be blunt with you. Back when I ran with the Tenth Street Reds, we were very much sticklers for having our clients pay on time. What we would do with those who didn't pay on time was we would put them on a small crane, either hooked to their cuffs or through their shoulder. Dangling over a pit, we'd slowly lower them in to a half-dozen street dogs who were trained to crave Human flesh. Right now, you'd have easily condemned all of us with this transaction and I'm not willing to hear from authorities about your sentence. Either you'll stick to your eight cubic meter cell, or I'll find something else for you."

Brooks smiled. "Admit it, commander. You'll m-" A single rifle round discharged. Brooks stumbled back as she felt for her right arm. Except her hands were cuffed around her back. She looked down in a mix between pain and abject horror as she saw her right arm, still cuffed to her left dangling lifelessly, hacking program still in its palm and fingers still twitching. Her left hand was slightly coated in crimson as she felt the sting of her cauterized stump.

"I'll admit, that little program you have was rather clever. Unfortunately, the show's not yet over." Fredrick had put down the clone and drew his rifle. He'd caught on to what the Cerberus agent was attempting and acted upon it just moments before it was too late. He approached Brooks rifle still trained on her and continued, "The final act has yet to properly conclude. We'll be docking soon, and as soon as the curtains pull back, your job will to walk down stage and play the final death for tonight." He gestured to the temporarily closed cargo hold doors as he explained his thought.

In the mere seconds he explained his idea, any remaining courage had evaporated. Looking briefly away from the Terran, she saw little more than a sea of hostile glares from the _Normandy_ crew, even both Shepards. The commander simply made a sarcastic, limp gesture as to prompt her to get moving. She felt her ragged breath stagger as Fred edged her along with the barrel of his rifle. "So this is it? You're putting me on display? This how you get your kicks?" she asked, blinking back painful tears. She dared not look back at the others as the attack-dog led her away.

"Perhaps, but I'm more interested in watching your childly foolishness come to bear its fruit. One more send off from this world to the next. All your final worries put to rest. Cerberus, the Harvesters, 'Humanity first' will no longer be a concern for you."

"So what? You feel obliged to carry out capital punishment on behalf of your precious commander?"

The doors opened to reveal the dock they had left earlier. "Don't worry, I won't let them brand your corpse with dishonor. I'll be sure your body isn't even recognizable, Morgan." Before she could acknowledge the name, he fired another round, bursting her head open like a watermelon as her scalp flopped through the air and rolled down the ramp. As her body rolled to a stop at the bottom, he unloaded the last of the battery capacity into her remains.

He gave on last look at the body before he holstered his rifle. Finding a nearby crate, he leaned over the side and removed his helmet, looking into the night, letting out a long sigh of relief. He was going to need a vacation after _this_ vacation. The others walked through the docking bridge avoiding him altogether, though Ashley broke of and joined him by his side. "You alright?"

"I just need some shut-eye, that's all," he sighed.

"There's always the medbay bunks."

He rolled off the side of the crate and picked his helmet up. "Sure. Just let me get my suit off." The two stumbled back inside and took the elevator to the crew deck, stripping off their armor as they entered the medbay before curling up in Fredrick's "designated" bed.

* * *

 **July 2, 2186**

 **12 hrs/43 min/54 sec**

 **Armax Arena, Citadel Station**

Fredrick wasted no time rolling into the next set of cover to reload. His current opponent was the perfect mix of all the strengths of everything he had fought against combined in a single entity with the sole exception of proper intellect was was the custom for the arena's VI. It was simple to fool and easy to bait into a trap if one knew how to effectively pull one off. By now, he knew the projection had enough damage resistance to withstand a full frontal attack, meaning he'd have to catch it by surprise and hit hard before it could bring up its protection.

Initiating his cloak, his opponent continued to lay down suppressing fire on one side of his cover while he dashed around the other way and jumped over the wall that separated the two sides of the platform. Diving down on the projection of himself, he pinned the enemy to the ground, ripped off the helmet, and drove his blade through the forehead of his digital rendition, ending the round. Fighting mirror matches were increasingly difficult as the arena VI would scan the combatant or combatants prior to entering before spawning in exact copies at the other side with the exact same weapons, armor, and abilities.

Recently, he had visited the former Cerberus scientists under Miranda and Jacob's command to take up their proposition regarding a Reaper-killing virus. To test its effectiveness, he was told to quickly test himself out in some physical setting, whether it be swimming or jogging. Unfortunately, he hadn't experienced any sort of interruptions that would've confirmed the virus' effectiveness. Calmly walking out of the arena floor, he found Ashley waiting for him at the entrance. "Damn, killer. I'm surprised you can take yourself down like that," she laughed.

"Oh it was nothing. Everything else in my body can be copied and reproduced, but my mind will always be a one-of-a-kind," he retorted, smiling.

"By the way, Skipper passed by while you were in there on her way to get new supplies. We're having a party back at the apartment later this evening with the rest of the team, as per Joker's request. Also mentioned you put up a good show while you were fighting yourself in there."

"Yeah... reminds me I should put in a new request for an officer uniform once this is all said and done."

"It didn't look _that_ bad. Not when I peaked into your footlocker."

"...Still, I'd like to get out of this goddamned suit for at least a day." They continued down to the Silversun Strip to where the apartment complex was to find Garrus, Wrex, Kaidan, Mordin, Thane, and Legion outside, all in civies.

Mordin noticed the two enter first. "Müller! Good to see you! Glad you could come!"

"Mordin, Legion, Thane, I'm surprised to see you were invited." A helpless smile trembled across his lips.

Thane stretched his arms as he acknowledged, "Of course. We still have our duties, but I think I can afford to celebrate for a single night. Just so long as no rough-housing is required. Can't afford to risk reopening my wound."

"It is good you have thus far survived the Old Machine invasion, Krios-Thane," Legion chirped.

The group continued their light banter as they entered the elevator going up to the apartment. It was nice to see everyone from the last few years all in the same place just one more time, both the original crew and everyone he met in the fight against the Collectors. After switching out of his armor, he returned to the living room, telling stories both relatively new and ancient to Jack, James, Steve, Kaidan, and Ashley. "When _did_ you first meet Wrex, anyways?" Kaidan inquired.

Fredrick decided to cut out Alice altogether by now, feeling she was at rest not mentioning her. "Ah, well over a century ago when I was at Flux, having myself a few drinks. You'd probably have to ask yourself, but Wrex and two other Krogans entered probably after returning from a job to unwind. His friends weren't particularly keen on keeping to themselves, and felt like challenging me to a little fight. Needless to say, apprehending them wasn't too much of a challenge. He gave me his complements, probably not expecting to see me later down the line. Just somehow, this universe has a way of making roads intersect in the most absurd ways."

The party quickly ramped up over the next hour, with music volume slightly increasing to the point where some of the neighbors were catching on, and beginning to gain interest. Grunt now stood by the door as a bouncer, while the others generally continued to enjoy themselves. "Yo Lobo, just to be clear, you've got special eyes, right?"

"What do you mean 'special'?" Fredrick returned.

"I mean you've got something like x-ray vision, no? Allows you to see everyone's health and see organs and stuff? Right?" Vega explained.

"Yes, all the way down to functions at the cellular level. Why?"

"I was just thinking back to the clone from earlier. How did you tell the difference between the clone and the commander?"

"The Illusive Man, or Jack Harper as is his actual name, approached me some time after Shepard's death, proposing that I give him a few nanite glands to implant into Shepard to help accelerate her recovery in exchange for intel on the Collectors. While the clone had been given all the same components, such as neural implants, advanced combat reinforcements and subdermal protection, she didn't have the same medical implants."

"Oh... well, say there's a clone of me present, sitting right next to me. He's wearing the same clothes, same tattoos, same hair cut and scars, and somehow has been given a copy of my memories. How'd you tell the difference?"

"If you'd be asking me to ask based upon biometric scans alone, then yes, it would be theoretically impossible to tell the two of you apart. Based upon outward appearance."

"Then how would you tell a difference?" Jack added.

"Personality of course. Just because 'he' has your memories, doesn't mean he'll act the same way as you do. Case and point, the commander."

The night dragged on, the alcohol began to spread around, the music got even louder, and someone dragged in a Varren, with people taking turns putting a saddle on the creature and riding it around. Fred, Garrus, and Zaeed looked at a glass panel facing the front door, contemplating defensive mechanisms. Garrus had a flimsy party hat strapped onto his head, with the string tangled somewhat around his mandibles. "Basically, we'd drill grid-like grooves into the glass, then line the glass with a string of explosive charges, that could be triggered as hostiles break in."

"Don't forget, you'll need an IFF to serve as a trip wire, make sure you don't blow up one of your lads by accident," Zaeed muttered, head clouded with alcohol.

"Maybe instead, set up the door with a barrier and have some distance back a turret that would rise out of the apartment floor, keep them at bay?" Fredrick proposed.

"What're you three up to?" They turned around to see Shepard standing right behind them, accidentally knocking over the empty bottles that were at their feet.

Garrus slowly answered, "Linda... love of my life... this apartment just has too little in the way of defenses. I can't risk losing you... okay?"

Linda walked up behind the Turian, wrapping her arms around his chest. "Garrus, so long as I have my precious, dedicated sniper at my side, I'm not going down any time soon."

"'bout snipers... maybe we could also have reinforced shutters for the windows? They'd make good curtains."

"Garrus, you promised some privacy earlier, remember?"

"...right, I..." Garrus stumbled away as Linda guided him upstairs to one of the bedrooms before audibly closing and locking the door behind them.

The two shared a good laugh at the sudden exchange. "Heh, lovebirds. So you were saying about the turret? Was it going to be manned, or automated?"

"It's meant to be automated. I was also thinking that the floor panels would also flip up to double as cover..."

* * *

 **July 3, 2186**

 **08 hrs/29 min/33 sec**

 **Shepard's apartment**

Fredrick's eyes blinked open, adjusting to the morning light. He looked around to find him on the ground in the kitchen against the washing machine with a blanket over him. The room no longer looked as well kept as it did the night before with food spilled on the floor, the furniture somewhat damaged and rumpled, one of the lamps had been knocked onto the floor, someone's shirt had been thrown over the chandelier above the dinning room table, and the Varren seen previously was licking a puddle of something putrid up from the floor. Looking under the blanket, he was now completely pantless with Ashley leaning up against him.

"Ugh, what a mess." He looked over to the source of the sound, head still spinning from the hangover. Last night had probably been the most he had ever drank in a single sitting, and he instantly regretted the decision.

"It's nothing we can't handle, sweetie. We've still got a few days worth to get this cleaned up a bit," a dual toned voice encouraged.

"Still doesn't change the fact it looks like a goddamn zoo in here. I knew it was a mistake to break open the pantry." Shepard and Garrus came into view as they stepped into the kitchen. "Hey doc, you alright?"

"Bit of a hangover, but I can handle it. What about you two?"

"Taking account of where everyone is," Garrus returned, eyeing the Varren. "You seen Ashley anywhere?"

He simply gestured underneath his covers. "Here with me. Said the floor was cold."

"I see. You may want to get ready. I just got a message from Tevos regarding our mission to Thessia."

"Right. That reminds me, I'll have to check in with some friends before we leave the station." Carrying Ashley to the living room couch, he tucked her in with their blanket and got himself a new set of pants before checking his omnitool for messages from the ex-Cerberus scientists regarding Project Medusa.


	15. Chapter 15: The Beginning of the End

(A/N): I know this is a late one, but I hope you're all having a good holiday season and a great New Year's celebration.

Chapter 15: The Beginning of the End

 _The final days fly by with a blur to the point where I barely took the time to mentally process anything besides the most paramount moments of each mission. Besides mission briefings and debriefings, I feel like I don't have any genuine time to pause and take a breath before being shoved down the next corridor. Then again, that's how I've been feeling ever since I joined the_ Normandy _crew._

* * *

 **July 3, 2186**

 **11 hrs/31 min/26 sec**

 **Refugee Camp, Citadel Station**

He sat patiently as the former Cerberus scientists continued to run diagnostics on his body. Along with a few final touches, they mostly ran additional scans and nothing too extensive. "How does it look?" Fredrick had been all but patient up until this point, not asking any questions or saying anything but the occasional "understood" or "alright."

"Hard to say, really. Your systems have taken a noticeable hit, however the Medusa Virus itself doesn't remain," the senior doctor explained. "Normally, this is the sign that the invaded system has consumed the invading script. We'll need to look into this further before we can amend this issue."

"That's not an option given my current schedule. We are shipping out to Thessia shortly, and I cannot specify when I will be back, if at all. I don't think I could properly excuse myself either without explicitly stating the nature of this project to others outside of this group."

"Well... alright... but please hurry. We might have something, but we need to refine it so it has a longer duration and better chance of what it's supposed to target."

"Okay. I'll keep in contact and inform you of my next return to the station." He left the room and strolled past the masses of cramped survivors of every species and stripe. Fredrick and the scientists made it known that they didn't trust the Crucible to work and wanted an alternative solution to the Harvesters. Unfortunately, the Alliance Navy and Terran Military were naturally both caught up in simply ensuring the survival of as many as possible to pay notice to their pleas and they had to continue with no external help.

Riding the tram, he made the rest of the way to the Alliance docks, where the _Normandy_ was still waiting. Linda was fussing with final preparations with an officer when his approach caught her attention. "About time. Where were you?"

"Caught in traffic. It's actually pretty hard to fit almost half of the galactic population on the Citadel," he hastily dismissed. "Anyways, what's the package?"

She let out a long sigh. "It's a Prothean VI. The Asari have kept it in a temple on their homeworld and it never exactly crossed their mind to finally mention it until now. The last piece to the Crucible is something called the Catalyst, and this VI supposedly knows where we're going to find it."

He simply stood, letting out little initial reaction. "Let me get this straight. The Asari had a VI which would've blown the lid off the Harvesters to begin, and they kept it a secret just so they could have what? A technological advantage?" Fredrick spat.

"It'd definitely explain a lot about Asari society. Come on, you can shoot Councilor Tevos later."

* * *

 **July 5, 2186**

 **17 hrs/57 min/45 sec**

 **Temple of Athame, Thessia, Athena Nebula**

The sound of MG fire filled his ears as he rolled out of the way of the collapsing debris from above. It hadn't been an hour into the mission and they'd already failed the objective. With most of the local Asari military devoted towards repelling the Reaper forces looming over the planet surface, there was little to defend the temple from a Cerberus strike team headed by none other than Kai Leng. Getting back to his feet, he found himself outside of the now destroyed temple entrance, alone and facing Kai Leng backed by a squad and a gunship.

He dealt with the gunship quickly before facing the Cerberus soldiers waiting just behind. Leng ordered the others to retreat with the VI while he alone faced the Terran medic. "You know, the Illusive Man ordered me to kill you above anything else should the opportunity arrive, even Shepard's life doesn't compare," the assassin laughed.

"It's good to know Harper still thinks so highly of me, but I strongly suggest you should've retreated with your squad," Fred chastised.

"Still continuing with empty threats? Besides, my strength and abilities have doubled since our last encounter, colonel."

"Two by zero still equals zero, kid. Now I highly suggest you turn heel before I tear you in half."

"And give up such an opportunity? The man who finally slaughtered the Wolf? It's such a romantic title, no?"

"Fine. I'll play. Just so you know, I only need to hit you once to kill you." A beam of nanites extended from the palm of his hand, before condensing into a solid blade.

"That's if you can even hit me, old man." Leng brandished his own blade, entering a ready pose. Only yells left their lips as they charged wildly at each other. Keeping track of Leng's blade, he ducked under the assassin's leap, catching his clavicle with the tip of his blade before jumping to his feet and simply running on, ignoring the Cerberus agent. Kai Leng growled in pain as he brushed his fingers against the injury before following suit.

Through the ruined plaza, Fredrick continued to give chase to the other Cerberus soldiers, bent on retrieving their prize before they could leave the surface. As luck would have it, he narrowly arrived as they jumped aboard a waiting Kodiak shuttle and left before he could deal sufficient damage to the vehicle's engines. Glaring into the distance, he watched grimly as it disappeared from view, not even bothering to turn to Leng as the agent finally caught up.

Kai Leng was panting under the weight of his equipment, turning somewhat pale as he stumbled into view. The inhuman bastard had done something to his cerebral implants and it was slowing him down. Hopefully, it wasn't any lasting damage. "Still... running... old man...?" he panted.

"An unfortunate outcome, yes. I see you're not doing too well yourself. You said you received some updates, had you not?"

"Yeah... nothing you're... gooonna-" Leng was interrupted when his body let out an electric jolt, causing him to drop his sword. Now his limbs were barely responding, and his limp had transformed into a fight to simply stay standing. Right behind his artificial eyes, the minor throbbing he started to feel had turned into a full-on pounding headache. "What have... you done to me?!" he growled, clasping his head.

Fredrick turned around, holstering his rifle, completely unafraid to brush by so close. "Your mind has been completely shattered, rendering you a mere puppet for the Harvesters," he exposited. "Most of the time, nanites are capable of reversing any damage their influence does, but there is a definite threshold beyond which they are capable of simply removing the tumors and decaying tissue without harming the host. Beyond that threshold, any attempt to treat the victim cannot be done, unless it cuts down the infestation with the remaining healthy tissue in the most excruciating way possible. Simply put, you are deserving of something much more punishing, but this'll have to do."

By now, Leng's spine seemed to involuntarily twist in pain and his arms clawed at his face like he was trying to swat away invisible flies. His legs continued to wobble, and the scratching swiftly intensified. The pain in his head grew to unbearable levels, and his pained moans grew into howls. In one, sudden motion, a hand grabbed onto his visor-like synthetic eyes and yanked it out, drawing blood and semi-organic neurons. He screamed as he continued to grab at his face, blood continued to pour out and the visor hung like a tree-swing. In one final moment, he fell over, screams ceasing, dead before he even hit the ground.

 _M_ _üller,_ Shepard cracked over coms. _We're wrapping up. Where are you?_

"Cerberus got the package. I followed, but they escaped." He reached down to Leng's corpse to retrieve a datapad on his hip. Quickly logging in, he found the dead agent's most recent orders, gaze finally looking over a mission to retrieve data from a Henry Lawson, Miranda's father.

* * *

 **July 6, 2186**

 **20 hrs/06 min/27 sec**

" **Sanctuary", Horizon, Iera System, Shadow Sea**

They piled into the elevator, with Miranda covering the rear. "Well, this is it," Miranda informed. "This will take us straight to the top of the facility."

The former Cerberus agent had informed the others about her father's most recent activities on the Human colony. Henry had been bent on securing his own legacy as the "savior" of Humanity by finding a way to control the Reapers. After establishing a research facility on Horizon meant to lure hapless survivors as test subjects, he had been extensively studying the effects of indoctrination, looking for a way to reverse engineer. It had been on the hunt for her sister Oriana that Miranda had informed them of the facility's presence. "Fred, tell us what you see," Linda ordered.

"Two people, Oriana and Henry. She's currently being held at gunpoint, awaiting our arrival."

"Hold your fire. She doesn't get hurt."

"Shepard, my rifle is 100% accurate up to three thousand meters. So long as a square inch of his face is showing, he's a dead man."

"I'd prefer if you didn't shoot at my sister."

"Just fucking switch to your pistol. At least that won't tear her up like a pinata should push come to shove."

"Fine. But just so you know, your stupid father doesn't leave alive." The elevator doors opened revealing Henry Lawson with one arm round Oriana's neck and another with a pistol leveled at them. Still drawing his pistol, he barely processed the situation as he drew and fired his pistol. Oriana let out a terrified scream as her dead surrogate father fell, his dead arms still clinging onto her.

"Shit! Oriana, are you alright?"

"I told you _specifically_ to hold your fire..."

"You obviously failed to notice the pistol pointed in our direction. Besides, Henry's dead, Oriana's not."

EDI finally interrupted the others as she looked up from a terminal near the other side of the room. "Shepard, I've searched all records present. There is no indication that the VI was brought here."

Miranda helped her sister to her feet as she acknowledged, "Thanks EDI. That just leaves one more place to look."

"Where else could there be?" Fredrick inquired, holstering his gun.

"No doubt it's at Cerberus central HQ. It's going to be a uphill fight every last step of the way."

* * *

 **July 9, 2186**

 **07 hrs/44 min/07 sec**

 **Serpent Cluster, awaiting transport through to the Horse Head Nebula**

Fredrick calmly walked to the bridge, helmet under arm, admiring the view outside of the _Normandy_. By far, this was the largest collection of Terran and Alliance vessels he'd seen together, even when Nazara attacked the Citadel years earlier. In a joint operation, the Systems Alliance and Terran Republic agreed to pool their resources in one final attack on Cerberus HQ to retrieve the Prothean VI and deal a deathly blow to the "pro-Human" organization. With the help of Miranda, they now had the coordinates of the facility, and were prepared to spearhead through whatever defenses lay in wait for them. "Hell of a view, huh Freddy?" Joker asked.

"I just hope this works." After this battle, there would be no doubt the Reapers would act on the Catalyst. By now, they'd probably pried the answers they were looking for from the VI and knew what they were looking for. Attacking Cerberus at its heart would be the sign they needed to hurry up.

Linda, Kaidan, Ashley, and Garrus arrived shortly after, fully armored and ready for the assault. "Just finished final checks, Joker. When you're ready, check us in with Hackett."

Ashley yanked aside Fredrick from the others for a moment. "How are you feeling?" she hastily asked, looking back and forth to see if anyone was watching.

"Honestly? Scared. This whole war has been nothing but running back and forth because no one else knew how to keep their shit together without our help. Shepard may be the head of this circus, but I know you and I feel the weight of everyone's gaze too," he sighed.

"I'm scared about what's going on in your head right now. Whether this Crucible is going to take you out too, or that when the dust clears, you're no more and something that... that just isn't you crawls out of your carcass."

"It's _not_ going to be like that."

"Don't make promises to a girl you can't keep."

 _Heads up people, we'll be entering the relay shortly,_ Joker announced over the PA. _Secure all bulkheads for FTL and begin final preparations. We'll probably be coming under fire the moment we stick our hull into the Anadius System, so remain at your stations._

Turning back to Ashley, he reached into his neck line. "I know nothing is certain. But if the worst comes to pass, just remember me for who I was." He pulled out his dog tags and put them in the palm of her hand before folding her fingers over them.

Ashley fought back tears as she looked at him in the eye. "You got it."

The ship shook from the relay, and they returned to their post in the bridge, Fred putting on his helmet. The next couple of hours passed, building in anticipation as they arrived in the Horse Head Nebula. As predicted, the mass of the Cerberus fleet had been built up around the HQ in defensive positions. "Taking evasive maneuvers! Hang tight people!" Jeff growled, struggling against the flakfire. While the barriers and stealth systems were holding, one stray shot just barely punctured their defenses and violently shook the entire ship.

"Joker, get us into dock and quietly. We'll deal with them from inside. Joker?" Shepard noticed in horror as she turned to see Jeff's unconscious, broken form on the floor, no doubt having hurt himself from the violent impact. EDI rose from her seat to help when Shepard ordered, "EDI, stay at your position. Kaidan, help her out and take the pilot's seat. Fred, get him out of there and to the medbay, and carefully!"

Carrying the unconscious pilot in his arms, Fredrick got to work lugging Jeff back to the medbay while the _Normandy_ continued to careen out of control. Entering the medbay, he started, "Dr. Chakwas? Jeff's hurt, and bad."

The elder let out a gasp as she saw what he was carrying. "Oh, blast! There's no way I can treat him like this, not while we're in combat!"

"Doctor, I can get him help using Terran resources, but I need you to keep him stable for now." He rushed out and made it to the elevator door before the vessel shook violently again.

 _Sorry for the turbulence people. Start taking account and repair any damage during our initial approach. If you're still down there Müller, you should get back up here quick. We're boarding shortly._

* * *

 **10 hrs/00 min/49 sec**

 **Cronos Station**

For once, the Cerberus forces showed a vigorous aggression the likes of which neither forces had seen before. Showing just how far they'd deviated from their Human origins, soldiers who became too injured would partially strip off their armor, would quickly forget any additional pain they withstood, and charged Humans and Terrans alike, clawing aggressively at their target. Liara was quick to learn this when a muscular goblin-like creature lept on top of her with graceful ease and shoved him to the ground, angrily swinging at her with rabid rage and elongated claws before its head exploded in oily goop. She slowly shoved the corpse off before looking up to see Fredrick's hand. "Are you hurt?"

"No. I appreciate the assist." The former archeologist had been brought along to help should the VI been damaged before their arrival.

"This reminds me too much of my cycle, when our former brothers and sisters were turned into servants of the Reapers, and turned against us," Javik grimaced.

"We shall avenge them, all too soon."

They fought towards the center of the station while the fighting continued in the space around them. Already, they had encountered more than they wished to see, from the mutation process of helpless refugees into the mindless minions Cerberus deployed to the details of Shepard's resurrection. Garrus took notice of Linda's reaction and offered emotional support before they continued. Reaching an elevator, they continued the rest of the way to Harper's office. Like what Shepard and Fred had seen a few times before, it was the office Harper had sat at so many times when he communicated with them. It was a large, dark office with a seat with a view of a dying star outside of a massive window. In the distance, Cerberus vessels were fighting a losing battle against the overwhelming Terran and Alliance fleets. Liara was the first to reach Harper's desk before activating the interface to be greeted by a shaky, green outline of a Prothean. "It's damaged, but it is salvageable. This will take me some time."

 _"You're sitting in my chair, Shadow Broker."_ Avoiding their attention, a projection of the Illusive Man now stood behind them, watching as they took his throne.

"I believe it suits me quite well, thank you very much," Liara groaned, returning to her work.

Fredrick faced the projection and replied, "What ever happened to protecting Humanity, Harper? I didn't take you as the type to suddenly sell out like this."

 _"At least_ I _still see the opportunity to dominate, Müller. When did you lose sight of that?"_

" _I_ lost sight? Get your head out of the clouds, Jack. You know as well as I do that there is no controlling the Harvesters!"

 _"I am still saving the galaxy! I'm just willing to take the advances_ you _aren't!"_

"You were always playing the fool, Jack. And now you've played right into their hands." He tapped the communication controls and watched as the image evaporated.

"I've got it. Javik, you think you can still interact with this?"

The Prothean commander walked up to the VI projection. "VI, what is your designation and purpose?"

"I am Vendetta. I was built towards the end of the Reaper confrontation to pass information on to the next cycle, and possibly help the completion of the Crucible," Vendetta answered. "I was unaware some had survived the initial attack."

Javik let out a nervous glance, looking at the space outside. "Not exactly. We have almost completed the weapon, however we are still searching for an object known as the Catalyst. Do you know where it is located?"

"The Catalyst is the central artificial intelligence of the Reaper construct known as the Citadel. It is central to the station, however, it is unknown if it serves some greater purpose in the Reapers' network." The solution was chilling, yielding nothing but silence from the others. They had travelled far and wide, as they fought the Reapers and their puppets at every front, yet all roads led back to the Citadel.

"The plot thickens. We should hurry, at least we can save this cycle," Javik encouraged.

"Commander, the Reapers have already made their advance," Vendetta interrupted. "I would advice you commence recording data for the next cycle."

Shepard was having none of it. "No. We _will_ stop those fuckers. I'm not lying down and giving up after everything we've done," she growled before stomping out of the chamber.

* * *

 **11 hrs/05 min/56 sec**

 **Pax System, Horse Head Nebula**

After wiping what remained of the Cerberus fleet, the Alliance and Terran forces began their hastily return, only to meet a rag-tag flee of survivors coming from the Seprent Nebula. During their temporary mission to the Cerberus base, Harper arrived at the Citadel backed by a large fleet of Reapers to take the Citadel the old fashioned way. With the help of a sixth member, Mordin, Thane, Kolyat, Legion, and Captain Bailey barely managed to evacuate several hundred million on the Citadel fleet and volunteered vessels before the Reapers fully took the station. "We did everything we could, commander. Unfortunately, there's still some billion people left to those bastards' mercy," Bailey informed.

"You did what you could. It's still rather impressive that you managed to get that many people off the station," Linda acknowledged. "Naturally, people in that sort of a situation are all in a panic, and coordination is a only a prayer away."

"It wasn't all our doing," Thane added. "With some convincing and quick thinking on Kolyat's behalf, we managed to get some help."

Fredrick looked through the medbay window to see Shepard's clone huddled on one of the beds, still wearing loosely fitting C-Sec riot armor. "Clone acted in your place. Helped boost moral, save lives. More would've been left had she not assisted."

"Our consensus confirms this statistic," Legion commented.

"Still, this leaves the fact that now the Citadel is over Earth, in the heart of Harvester-occupied territory," Fredrick reminded. "What's the plan?"

Shepard nodded. "Hackett just announced to the other fleets we'll all be meeting in the Serpent Nebula before launching a full-scale attack on the Sol System to get the Crucible to the Citadel. Which reminds me, Müller. Did you get a replacement pilot?"

"Of course, when I escorted him to the _Sokol_ for medical recovery. I've worked with him since I was young and I trust him with my life."

Standing behind them was a Western European man in bright red Terran pilot armor, walking forward before taking off his helmet. "One last hu-ra before we all get shipped off to hell, 'ey Fred?" Amory quipped.


	16. Chapter 16: History Repeats

Chapter 16: History Repeats

 _There are times where I wonder if I could've done anything differently in regard to Fredrick. Day after day, I watch Dmitri parade him and his band of child soldiers around like trophies, and I kick myself for it. It was Dmitri who twisted their minds and bodies, but it was I who stood idly by and let it happen. Maybe Fredrick would've become a better being had he been raised under my care, and pursue something more – I dare say – productive in society, and help to better stabilize galactic affairs. I just hope whatever powers there be treat him with some forgiveness on grounds of original sin._

* * *

 **July 11, 2186**

 **08 hrs/32 min/46 sec**

 **SSV _Normandy_ medbay, Widow System, Serpent Nebula**

It had been a few months before he met Shepard when Fredrick decided to poke through some of Andrew's old belongings. That was when he found the late doctor's journal: over five hundred pages of recorded regrets and condensed worries about his would-be prodigy. It was a level of insight that would occasionally cast doubts within his own mind, and forcing him to realize he'd been his own worst enemy. It weighed down like a lump of lead in his stomach, refusing to degrade from either his digestive acids or the stains of time. He hid the journal back in his footlocker before picking up his helmet and leaving. Waiting for him outside, Amory stood up from the mess area and walked over. "So, you still turning into one of those synthetic bastards? The Harvesters, I mean."

"Yes. I'm not sure how far along I am, but I'm confident I haven't been fully 'assimilated' yet," he answered, continuing the walk to the elevator.

"You don't suppose you'll turn into some two-kilo tall behemoth once the conversion is complete, do you? Because that's going to be a rather odd conversation once that happens."

"I'd prefer not. Even with the impressive size, it's incredibly inconvenient for getting certain matters done personally. That's why they rely on infected puppets to do their bidding: because they _can_ go where they _can't_. I prefer accomplishing matters directly and disposing of infected victims is more work than its worth once everything is said and done."

"Well, even if you aren't changing too much on the outside, you're certainly starting to think like them with that mindset," Amory chuckled.

"Oh, shut up."

The elevator doors opened up to reveal a number of the vessel's personnel already at attendance. At the position overlooking the galaxy map, Shepard was discussing final preparations with Admiral Hackett. From what little intel they received from Councilor Anderson back on Earth he Citadel was now in orbit over the Human homeworld, and the accumulated fleets of all the recruited species would be providing cover for the Crucible to moved into place on the station from the harm of the Reapers. However, the Citadel was closed for the time being and the only way on was a gravity well onto the station which the Reaper forces were currently using as a disposal bin for the dead. While the various navies protected the Crucible above, it would be the duty of their combined armed forces to reconnect with the remaining Alliance forces on the ground, clear out the AA guns protecting the Citadel, before making a direct push for the gravity well. Finally, it'll be a matter of opening the Citadel arms so the Crucible can be installed and activated.

 _"Ladies, gentlemen, I know this war has asked much from all of us, but today stands to be the most important military operation in all of our species' histories,"_ Hackett started. _"In the next few hours, we'll be entering the Local System relay with everything we have at our disposal. Every individual who can pick a weapon and join in on the fight stands at their stations for this final effort. We cannot worry about ourselves in this moment if our young and unborn are to have any hope in the future. This_ is _our finest hour. Prepare yourselves."_

Amory gave Fredrick a hard slap on the back of his right shoulder. "Don't fuck this up you glorious bastard. I'll be at the cockpit, trying to be friendly with the bloody AI."

"You too Amory. Give 'em hell from the skies for me." A number of bustling soldiers and engineers piled into the elevator with him, first stopping off at the crew deck.

"Hey, Fred. You got a minute?" Kaidan asked following him closely out of the elevator.

He raised a brow for a moment. "What seems to be the problem, Kaidan?"

"Look, I know I was a bit late to 'reach out' to the commander and that Garrus has long since marked her, I still had my eyes on the... clone. She's got the same looks, but jumpier attitude. Wanted some-"

"Kaidan, I remember being in this same position over... three years ago? Still, if you want a chance at her, approach her like you want to know more about her. She maybe the more antisocial type, but try to slowly pry at her. Maybe, you might know how to make her more comfortable, and maybe she might begin to show some interest in return. It's a shot in the dark, but I think it's your best shot at it," he answered faithfully.

"Thanks. I owe you one."

He hadn't made it another few steps to the medbay when the doors opened before him, Ashley waiting just inside. "Hey, Fred... you got a minute?"

"Ashe? What are you doing? I didn't see you at the briefing."

"Just hurry, I want some privacy." He walked inside and closed the door behind him, putting the helmet down on Chakwas' desk. "I just... you're still going to be you, right? Just as a Reaper?"

I stuttered for a moment, fighting for a good response. "Ashley, I'm hardly changing physically. And the changes to my mind are minute. For all its worth, I'm still the same man since we rescued Tali from that team of assassins years ago. Even if it is a mock-up of me... it's still me, no?"

"That's what I'm afraid of. That once you're gone, you're..."

"I'm not leaving. I know you're distressed, just... let me help you..." After a brief, silent pause he leaned forward to kiss her, while reaching over for the blinds to the medbay window.

* * *

 _"We have a problem."_

 _"And you didn't mention this earlier?"_

 _"I hadn't found it until recently. I had been looking through surveillance records on the structure, looking for any leverage on Müller when I had found something rather disturbing in nature."_

 _"Cease the ambiguity. The sooner you reveal, the sooner you can receive your punishment and be on your way."_

 _"Then perhaps you should review it yourself." It linked the data sequence to Harbinger and began to leave._

 _Harbinger began to interpret the data when alarm sharply seeped into his mind. "And this is recent?"_

 _"What?"_

 _"How long ago is this from?"_

 _"Not but several days ago."_

 _"Get the word out. Müller is not to reach the Citadel."_

* * *

 **12 hrs/53 min/55 sec**

 **SSV _Normandy_ bridge**

After a hasty romp, a nap, an equally hasty shower, and a relaxed meal, Fredrick returned to the bridge and walked behind Amory as the pilot bickered with EDI. "Oh come now. A ship _this_ expensive and _this_ advanced should be able within all reason to pull off the list of maneuvers I just listed off."

EDI's mech gave the most acidic glare it could from the copilot seat. "Forgive me if I'm more accustomed to Jeff's handling. However, I find that your style is more accustomed to flying fighters rather than cruisers."

"EDI, don't worry. I've know Amory for about as long as I have been alive, and I've seen him pilot a large variety of vehicles. You're in good hands," Fredrick asserted.

"I hope you're right. I really do hope so," the AI sighed.

Amory chuckled as he elbowed Fred's side. "And I thought the meet-up for the Cerberus stronghold was huge. Would you have a look at that?" It was unbelievable, seeing the Quarian Flotilla, the small rag-tag ships of the Krogan and pirate factions, what remained of the Batarian military, the Turian fleet, the Geth defense attachment, the combined Terran forces, the Alliance vessels that were outside of the Sol System upon the Harvesters' arrival, the Salarian and Asari's fleets, and a myriad of other unidentified ships volunteering for the fight. "A bit late, but it's good that everyone decided to pull their heads out of their asses when they did."

"Indeed. And now for the madness to commence. What's the word on that attack on the Citadel?"

"Doing final technical preparations. Got to make sure everything will work properly once we get there."

The door to the cockpit reopened to reveal Linda, Liara, Tali, and Garrus. "Hackett just gave us the go-ahead. Everyone's in position and ready to enter the Mass Relay. No turning back now."

"Wouldn't imagine it, commander. Strap in everyone, we'll be jumping to FTL shortly," Amory laughed, fingers flying over the controls, just brushing the dials and levers. "This is going to be bumpy, but I'm not apologizing for any bumpiness along the way."

"Just don't wreck my ship," Shepard sighed.

At the tip of the effort, the _Normandy_ was the first through the relay. The arcs of energy reached out to them, almost bidding farewell as they were yanked from the Serpent Nebula to the Local Cluster. They weren't greeted immediately by the Reapers, giving the rest of the fleet ample opportunity to begin their entrance to the Sol System. "All fleets are reporting in, Shepard," EDI said.

Shepard nodded. "I hope you're as good as Müller says you are, Wing Commander Johnson."

"Commander, relax. I'm well aware about the potential of stress on your precious ship, but I'm in serious doubt that'll come to be. Now hang tight, we're thirty minutes out and counting." The stars dashed by before they came within relative scope of Earth. Like so many of the densely populated planets the Harvesters had raided, the surface below was in flames, and in orbit was the largest collections of Harvesters they'd seen during the war. "EDI, revert all non-essential energy to the shields and engines, and siphon off any energy from the weapons systems if need be. We're heading for the surface, right?"

"No problem. However, this is severely fucking over anyone who's reading or cooking back there. I'll try to buy anything that went bad in the fridge." As their fleet met the machines, the Harvesters' tendrils lifted up to reveal their main weapons and began firing. Vessels from both sides erupted in silent flames as the _Normandy_ danced through to the surface. "See? Minimal damage. I'm seeing a safe space down there close to the Citadel's tether in London. Once you're down there, you better quickly unload. I'll be returning to orbit to help with the fight above."

"Alright, prepare for landing. EDI, take care out there." They returned to the cargo hold, where everyone was already suited up and ready to deploy along with two Makos and the Kodiak shuttle. All of the away team, a squad of Alliance soldiers, a squad of Terran soldiers, and a handful of other races stood ready for the cargo hold doors to open. Everyone knew their orders and everyone was ready to fulfill their duties.

"Skipper, you don't really expect any of us to climb back into one of those, do you?" Ashley was the first to break the ice.

"We'll be taking the shuttle and making the rest of the way on foot the first of the AA guns," Shepard corrected. "Müller, Javik, James, and Kaidan will be meeting up with the other ground forces that made it through to help take down the other three. We'll all be meeting back up at the tether to the Citadel. No doubt they've heavily reinforced that line."

"So _some_ of us are getting onto a Mako?" Kaidan replied.

"This is for that shit you pulled off back on Mars."

Amory suddenly called in over the intercoms in the cargo. _"Alright ladies and germs, we'll be touching down in thirty seconds. Prepare for departure, then we're dusting off to return to the fight above."_

Garrus raised a brow in protest. "Just what part of this guy has earned your trust?"

"Yes, he's a bit full of himself at times, but at least he gets the job done," Fred acknowledged, rolling his eyes in a dishonest fashion. To be frank, Amory was the most overconfident of the original seven, and his behavior showed. The cargo hold shook as the _Normandy_ came to a halt. Making his way to the back of one of the Makos, he added, "We'll see you at the Citadel, Shepard. Good luck out there!"

* * *

 **13 hrs/38 min/28 sec**

 **London, Earth, Sol System, Local Cluster**

It was a shame the Alliance had yet to improve the suspension and handling of the Mako line of APCs. Even though the Cerberus-made Hammerhead with its paper-thin armor handled better with its prototype repulsion system. Unfortunately, the cargo hold of the _Normandy_ wasn't designed to hold anything of Terran design, as the vehicles were too big. Walking among the other Terran soldiers, he walked to the driver's seat and asked, "How far out are we?"

"One-point-five kilos out. We'll be there shortly."

"Got it. Alright people, listen up. Those AA guns will damage the Crucible if it gets too close to the Citadel, so we've got to do this quickly. We'll be meeting up with what's left of the local resistance to plant charges on that first gun. Unless the job falls to us, we'll be providing support fire against those nearby husks. Am I clear?"

"Sir, the rendezvous point is up ahead," the driver interrupted.

"Bring us into the parking garage. Radio indicates we're meeting up there." The Mako swiftly slowed down before entering the parking ramp underneath what was left of a large hotel. Down below were a few Geth armatures watching the door. Exiting the vehicle, they found themselves among a mix of Alliance, Geth, and Quarian marines, huddled up inside. In a courtyard just north of their building was one of the AA guns firing constantly into orbit. At the center of the operation was the Human Councilor, a Quarian marine, and Legion.

"Should we follow accordingly to the given plan, our approximate chances of success stand at a thirty-two-point-three-three percentile success rate," Legion concluded.

Reegar let out an aggravated sigh. "Given how much trouble these bastards have been giving us, I'd say it's certainly a lot better than before."

"Colonel, it's good to see you've made it." Long gone were David's councilor robes in place of a suit of standard Alliance Navy armor, roughed by months of little maintenance.

"Likewise, Councilor Anderson. What are we looking at out there?"

"The bastards have the square out there locked down hard," Reegar answered, gesturing outside. "They've got the square locked down with two brutes, three of those Asari-looking things, and a bunch of husks from various species. We've been trying to make a push for the second floor, try and get a height advantage on the brutes, but the damned Asari keep swatting us down. They've even been troublesome for the Geth Primes."

"Guess that's where we come in. We'll pick off those corrupted Asari and provide overwatch for the rest of the guys here from the second floor to the East. I assume you have a plan for destroying the gun itself?" Fredrick proposed.

Legion released a sequence of buzzes to a small group of hunters. "We have analyzed the structural integrity of the artillery cannon. Once they've safely approached, these platforms will plant explosives to destroy the weapon."

"You heard the tin-can, get up there and start laying down suppressing fire for the Terrans to get into position," Anderson barked. "Think you'll be alright out there?"

"We'll be fine. Once those Asari are down, the brutes should be easier to deal with." Rushing to the other side of the parking garage, they made their exit, followed closely by Quarian marines and Geth platforms. His team ran to the nearest bombed-out building and climbed up the stairs to the next level. As predicted, the monstrosities hovered up elegantly with their biotics to cut them off. With a barrier in front to fully wall them off, the first two were swiftly dispatched. The third one used a biotic blast to weaken the barrier, and reached over to finish off Fred by piercing his helmet with its dagger like fingers. He countered by shoving his rifle against its talons and chest before leveling his rifle to finish it off, only to find his rifle was jammed.

The others in his squad gunned it down before it could properly recover. "We've got it, sir."

"Yeah... thanks..." He observed his rifle and looked thoroughly at the firing mechanism just above the pistol grip. The Asari's fingers had been torn off from its hand, and were now lodged into the side of the mechanism, probably leaving the rifle dysfunctional until properly repaired. He tossed aside the useless rifle and switched out for his pistol in one hand, and the particle blade in the other. "We still have a job up here. Focus fire on those brutes." While the others continued their fighting with the husks below and his squad finished off the brutes, he'd been reduced to the role of pointing for his soldiers, maintaining a barrier, and killing any husks that wandered their way specifically. In the courtyard, the Geth hunters planted the charges on the underbelly of the cannon and detonated it after everyone rushed to a safe distance. "Shepard, it's Müller. We just destroyed one of the AA guns."

 _Good job. Kaidan and James have already destroyed another one. We're pushing for the third, and another unit of Alliance troops are pushing the last one. Meet us at the beam to the Citadel,_ Linda ordered.

"I'll be there shortly."

* * *

 **17 hrs/01 min/50 sec**

The fighting continued for hours. With the Geth, Quarians, Anderson's men, and his own, he fought tooth and nail with just his biotics, his knife, and his pistol. By now, he was tired, aching all over, and had consumed all of his rations on the way towards the beam. It was a painful crawl between the streets when he finally met up with Shepard and the others from the _Normandy_. "Anderson, I'm surprise you're alive still."

The Human Councilor let out a light laugh. "I'm surprised to see you all here. Everything's coming full circle. The tether is not much farther. Let's go."

With everyone else nearby, they came around one last turn before coming face-to-face with the home stretch. Down a large hill of rubble was a vast, open space with the beam situated amidst mile-high pillars of a gunmetal-gray tone, before extending into the sky like the titular plant from Jack and the Bean Stalk. Just behind the beam, Harbinger landed only a kilometer away, and made his presence well known with a single, bellowing roar. _"M_ _Ü_ _LLER._ _"_

"Shit! Let's go!" Shepard was the first to rush forward, and everyone simply rushed behind in a large, uncoordinated mass. Harbinger replied by raining down beams of energy upon them, disintegrating those who were struck and causing vehicles to burst into flame. The _Normandy_ crew remained behind a Mako for cover until an explosion caused the APC to tilt onto its rear, before beginning to flop down onto them.

Most of them slipped on the random scraps strewn about, and would've been caught under the full weight of the vehicle had Fredrick not been still standing. He let out a long, painful grunt as he narrowly held the weight up upon his shoulders, slowly shifting his body to toss the ruined Mako aside. "Goddamn hunk of scrap metal!" he growled. Harbinger still wanted him dead above all else. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, and he ran as hard as he could. Again and again, another beam would strike the ground and buzz towards him before he narrowly rolled out of the way and picked himself up. Reaching the base of the ruins, a single, corrupted Turian poked its head out to fight him before being gunned down by Fred and his sidearm. Leaping into the beam, he flipped off Harbinger one more time before being whisked away to the Citadel.

It was unnervingly surprising when Harbinger inexplicably took off prematurely, leaving most of the others alive. By the time Shepard, Anderson, and the survivors reached the bottom of the hill, the tanks had been destroyed, the bigger Geth units were too cumbersome to dodge the beams, half of those who came along had been reduced to dust, and half of those Harbinger failed to eliminate had been severely injured. Reegar stumbled along before he asked, "Where's he off to? Why the sudden change of mind?" before being yanked aside by Tali for medical attention.

"Something's not right, Shepard. This just isn't right," Anderson added with concern.

Linda made up her mind. "We're heading up. Javik, Kaidan, Ashley, and Tali will stay down here and tend to the injured. Anderson, we're heading up with what's left of your platoon and follow Garrus, Vega, and myself."

"I'm with you all the way, Shepard." Anderson lifted a hand to his suit intercom and asked, "Colonel, you still up there?"

 _Yeah, I'm alive. The signal is weak though. If you're coming up, be careful. The beam seems to be depositing bodies up here, and the Keepers are starting to move them about._

"My god... what for?"

 _The Citadel serves many purposes in the Harvesters' network. A main gateway into the Galaxy, a central hub of gathered data, and a dry-dock. By the looks of things, those poor people are being piled up to be processed into building blocks for the next Harvester or line of Harvesters. I'm going for the control room. Yo...uon,lkmdkfad..._ Fredrick's voice gave way to static.

"No time to waste, I suppose. Let's go, guys," Linda said, stepping foot into the beam

* * *

It was admittedly tense as he walked out of the corpse-chamber, armed with only his pistol. Most of his batteries were still recharging, his eezo cores were actually stressed for once, and he was otherwise unprepared for a fight. He exited down a distinct pathway out of the processing chamber down a catwalk-like path, with an open view of the Citadel's arms stretching above him. He entered a dim, enormous, transparent control room with a projection of the Citadel in the center. The steps, various panels, and walls were lined with a grid-like holographic orange. He stepped one step forward when the room lit up. "I would stop right there if I were you Fredrick." The illustrious Cerberus leader had been standing in the corner of the room, wrapped in shadows. Now ingrained in his face and what looked to be the rest of his body were blue electronics and synthetic, black flesh. The tendrils dug into his face like an inverse star, leaving distinct scars and decaying skin. "You take a step forward and here I am again. Like your own reflection in a hall of mirrors."

"That makes me one ugly sonuvabitch. How'd my face get all marked up by bioelectrics?" He paid no attention to Anderson, Shepard, and the others as they rushed in behind him before some unseen force caused them to freeze. Involuntarily, their muscles locked into place, leaving them as fearful, helpless witnesses.

"It's a shame to see you are still so blind to the potential, Müller," Jack growled.

"And it's a shame to see _you've_ served your purpose, Harper!" Fredrick hissed, aiming his pistol and firing twice.

Shock was the last emotion scrawled across Harper's face as he collapsed to the floor, oozing black, bubbling liquid. He surely thought with his new implants, he had the Reapers and those who got too close under his influence at last. And with Fredrick, it was all too perfect to see the man who laughed at his proposal for a pro-Humanity faction at his mercy at last when the good doctor suddenly and invasively burst his bubble, one with a shot to the chest, and one shot clean through his head. Now being able to more easily breath, Anderson commented, "Well, that was a rather... hasty confrontation."

Fredrick scoffed the idea. "Perhaps it was because you weren't there until the end, but I've had way too much deja vu for one day. A long fight downhill to a teleporter back to a ruined, closed Citadel in pursuit of something starting with the letter 'C'. After scraping by the piles of the dead and getting through by the skin of our teeth, we reach some control panel with some Harvester puppet standing in the way, only for the puppet to transform into some monstrosity in a last-ditch effort to prevent us from opening the Citadel and saving the day. Does this ring a bell?" He was now increasingly irritated and stomping towards the central control panel near where Harper now lie.

"What?" Shepard gave him a stern, concerned look.

He breathed an exasperated sigh. "Never mind, I'm going insane. This had better work." He smashed his fist on a single button, and looked up to see the arms open up, with the the Crucible lined up and slowly being slotted into place by a number of Salarian vessels.

 _Shepard, this is Hackett. I assume that's you in there. We've got the Crucible in place and will be firing shortly._

Fredrick ignored the small cheers behind him as he walked over to Harper's remains, staring into his still glowing eyes. "Dumbass," he muttered. He however did take notice when the cheers were replaced with disgruntled moans, and turned back to the others to investigate.

"What do you mean? What's wrong?"

 _It's nothing you can fix, Commander. We'll fix it from out here._

A peep of some sound came from behind him as he rose to his feet. Whipping around, he found himself face to face with a child-sized light-blue shape. "Who are you?"

 _"I am the Catalyst. I've been waiting for this encounter for a long time, M_ _ü_ _ller,_ _"_ the image greeted.

"That's what a lot of people tell me. Why don't you tell me your purpose on this structure and we'll go from there."

 _"I was designed to help maintain the system. You can lower the pistol. It won't do much. Besides, you're better off hearing what I have to say."_

The hologram had now attracted the attention of everyone present, and they now stood behind the Terran medic as he conversed with it. "I'd really like to hear you justify this horrendously designed system, the cycles, the Harvesters. We're you not assigned to protect synthetics and organics? When the hell did that mean perpetuating that which you were supposed to prevent?"

 _"My duty was to find the perfect system to achieve just that. This was simply the best solution. Until an alternative arises, this will continue to be the practice used to maintain the galaxy."_

"So you thought a cycle of mass-extinction was the key?"

 _"Are synthetics and organics not bent on causing the same thing? Besides, what I do is help to preserve each species – each cycle – in the form of the Reapers. Each model integrated with the history, culture, and collective identity of a given race."_

"With words alone, I ended a three century war between the Geth and Quarians. The Terrans seem fine being a composition of semi-synthetic, semi-organics. Your argument is invalid."

 _"If you feel that you have a better solution, that's fine. Just know that the activation of the Crucible will have lasting damage upon the Mass Relay system. However, you can have one last decision as to what effect the weapon will have. The first option is to continue with its original effect."_

"I assume there's still some unforeseen effect?" Shepard inquired.

 _"That would be correct. It would result in the greatest amount of damage done to all tech across the galaxy. I cannot specify the damage done to the relay system, and it would definitely have lasting effects upon all synthetic life. Terrans would be temporarily crippled and all AI would perish in the aftermath."_ As it spoke, a button on the central panel with the Citadel projection began to glow an ominous red color.

"So what are the other options?" Garrus pressed.

One panel towards the back of the room opened up to reveal two blue energized poles, with jolts of electricity arcing off. _"The next option would be the integration of one member with the system. The imprint of a new mind on a new AI to take control of the system. The beings you know as Reapers would now fall under the directive of the new AI and the relay system would only be temporarily shut down for integration."_

Garrus was unconvinced. "And how would we know this wouldn't backfire? How do we know this 'new' AI wouldn't simply perpetuate the same system?"

 _"The memories and mind would resemble that of the person who would perish during the process. Their mind to a new mind."_

"I find this all highly unlikely so far," Anderson commented. "I assume there's a third option?"

" _I only seek a symbiotic relationship. With the introduction of new DNA, the relay system could be used to convert all life to a semi-synthetic composition. The Reapers would recognize the accomplishment of a solution and fighting would cease."_

"That's a solution?! Let them win?!" Anderson barked.

 _"The galaxy's fate is at your hands. Chose wisely."_

Fredrick's head was reeling. Not a single second had passed when the room erupted into arguing. Vega, Vakarian, Shepard, Anderson, and the platoon of soldiers were at each others' throats, debating what choice was better. All he could do was stand there, trembling as darkness consumed him.

* * *

(P.S.): Trying to wrap this up as quickly as possible. I've thought long and hard about this, but I don't know what would be the best way to conclude this piece, and I hate reverting back to the original ME3 endings, or at least some variant of it.

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* * *

 _Wait, wait, wait, what? It just ends there? It stops? I... hold the fuck up. No, that doesn't make sense. But... why? That such a bitch move. With that in mind, that fucker may as well just have jumped straight to this chapter... No, I re... refuse to let this be it. It just... it just... it just..._

Chapter 17: God Within

 _In that moment, that... frame of reference... it all became clear. In a brief flash, the seems of reality started to fray along the edges... Had I finally succumbed to the virus? Perhaps. Perhaps in some moment where they finally took my mind, my interpretation of reality became warped... This is what I was meant for, isn't it...? My... my... purpose? Alright, let's do this you bastards._

* * *

 **July 11, 2186**

 **17 hrs/18 min/21 sec**

 **Still on the Citadel over Earth**

I blinked back to reality and took a look around me. The smug bastard – the Catalyst – was giving me this shit-eating grin that just reeked of the words "what are you going to do about it." The world around me was at a crawl, with every muscle movement being emphasized in its full glory. Was this the insanity everyone was experiencing? Linda and Garrus looked like they were arguing over a child, Anderson was simply fighting to keep two of his soldiers apart from each other, and one had gone so far as to go to blows with poor James, slowly crawling through the stale air.

This is what the Catalyst wanted. He didn't need to fully infect all of them, but leave their heads spinning for long enough to distract them, leave them vulnerable for the Crucible to never fire and for this whole fight to be meaningless. And even if someone finally broke through and picked up one of his ludicrous options, the Harvesters would still have the upper hand. They'd still rule. They'd still continue and have their way. It had to stop.

But maybe this was it. Maybe this is what these last few hundred thousand pointless words have been leading up to. I look at my empty palm as if to expect something to grow out of it, like mushrooms from a dead log. Of all the stupid lines, the blatant plot holes, and themes that just cop out and never leading up to anything, this is what it all amounts to. 'Know what? I'm taking this opportunity to fuck this guy over. If it's any decrepit, antiquated, senile bastard who needs a dose of his own medicine, it's the projection of the ass-backwards AI standing before me, secretly laughing his ass off. Also, Riccitiello, Wilson, _and_ their cancer infested company can burn in hell for all I care.

Yes, I'm ten degrees of hypocritical for taking away the "player agency" in this moment and that we all deserve the worst ending possible, but frankly, I don't give a fuck. This story has gone on way too long. Here's to you, Catalyst. I've somehow still got the Medusa Virus. I'm pretty sure this'll be explained in the footnotes or something. Outside of everyone else' peripheral vision, I reached for the console in the middle. Not to destroy, but to carefully cut away the decay. As I interfaced, the world faded to white, with a sound like a digital wind blowing past my ears.

Everyone suddenly snapped out of their hysteria when Fredrick fell to the ground, first landing on the console before rolling onto the ground unconscious. "Dios! Lobo?" James yelped, rushing to the Terran's side. He stopped hard in his tracks when a orange barrier rose between himself and the console which Fred by.

The Catalyst's form had starkly grown to a blurry, seven-foot form with a voice that resembled a man, an elder man, a woman, and a child speaking simultaneously. _"This is only a temporary issue. It will be rectified shortly... What are you doing, still lying there? Dispose of them!"_

The Illusive Man's body vigorously twitched as it reanimated, with cracks of yellow light beginning to peak through his skin. That was when the clothing began to tear as his left arm shot up and began to grow, muscles bursting through his skin, and the chest bursting through the shirt as bone and nerves expanded exponentially. In panic, everyone ran to cover behind terminals around the room. Shepard eyed Fred one more before looking to the reanimated former-Cerberus leader. What was left of the man's muscular anatomy had been reinforced and given the same metallic consistency as all other husk-like beings. A new bodily frame had formed, with the left arm now running the length of the Illusive Man's new body with claws and needles formed from his fingers. The right arm look atrophied in comparison, but was now mounted with a large cannon. A cord-like spine crawled up its back and connected with what seemed to be the Illusive Man's original torso. The skin on the Illusive Man's face had stretched back from the cord connecting it to the back of its head and turned a pale gray. The skin on his torso had completely decayed away to display the synthetic interior, and the "original" spine had grown slightly longer, and twirled like a tail. _"Clumsy, but it will do. Now, finish them."_

The newly formed husk let out a deep, hungering cry like a whale before stumbling forward.

* * *

I snapped awake again. "You took a while," a thick, male voice hummed. I pushed myself off the ground. It was somewhere else in the Citadel, except it was set during the daytime. The streets were empty with the exception of a single, ink-black man standing in front of me, strands of black flames blurring his true form. "Perhaps we could discuss this further. Maybe then, you'll see reason," Harbinger continued.

I climbed back to my feet, giving a stern glare. "Reason? What reason is there to be had?! This is insanity! This is beating a dead horse expecting it to get the fuck up and start running again!"

It smiled and shook its head. "Now now, let me start again. You know for a fact your job is to maintain order, and so is mine."

"I'm still struggling to see your reason. Perhaps you could explain?"

"That I shall." The Citadel suddenly disappeared into pixels on a white empty plane and reformed to construct a different scene. "You've been here before, have you not? Feros."

I took the time to observe the landscape. However, something was different. Something was missing. "Wait, why does this place look-?"

"Maintained? Repaired? This is a time when the Protheans were in their prime. This isn't the Feros of today you recognize. This is the Feros of millennia passed." It was true. In the distance along the bridge of the colony, I saw vehicles hovering on air, and the guards on the tower we stood on were wearing royal Prothean armor, much like how Javik drunkenly described it during the Citadel DLC. "You see, we don't burn everything, not completely anyways. We cherish their history, their culture, their species. It doesn't matter what planet it is, where they are. We record through the Mass Relays everything about a species. History, evolution, politics, speeches, and biographies. Wherever a relay is, our watchful eyes remain."

"Your dreadnoughts? They are a collective people rebuilt with the perfect biology?"

"You're catching on faster than anticipated. I still detect a whiff of doubt, however. Perhaps something older then?" Feros similarly dissolved into pixels on an empty plane before reverting to a earth-brown planet, with long canyons and tall rock formations. We stood at the edge of a large city, unlike anything I had ever seen before. The buildings looked to be made of clean stainless steel, with heavy emphasis on hexagons. "These are the inhabitants of your homeworld five hundred thousand cycles ago. Would you like a closer look?"

Curiosity buzzed in my mind. "Show me." Built from the ground-up, a pillar of pixels formed before us before condensing in a different species. It looked like an ant, or some similar arthropod, with the exception it was built on its hind legs, and its torso was more heavily built.

"The Formas as they called themselves." It reached forward and tapped the face region of the entity, bringing up a small, blue circle with what appeared to be a profile. "With each entity consumed by the system, they are saved. A frame of who they were in time and who they were leading up to their preservation." I watched in suppressed horror as I saw him turn a dial and revert the adult back to what looked like a child. "Personality, genetics, identity, all of it is saved here."

"As an image, you mean. As a still, inanimate image."

"Not necessarily." We returned to the Citadel, this time with people. They walked around us, ignored us as if we weren't there, yet they recognized there was some invisible island present. Before us were spawned two more entities: Alice and Saren. "The ones you love are still here, kept ready for you whenever you want to visit. Their personality, memories all as they were before they were taken into the system."

It was chilling, feeling digital-Saren wrap his arm around me and Alice walk up and plant her lips on my visor. _"Why don't you take the helmet off? It's been a long day, you deserve a rest."_

No. It was fake. It was all fake. I shoved the two aside and stomped forward, yelling, "You aren't preserving them. You're dipping them in wax and hanging them up to dry before you set them up on a pretty stage in a museum!"

"This is the solution, Müller. You know it to be true."

"It is _not_! You have unprecedented power to oversee and influence data and biology through the use of the Mass Relays and the Citadel, and all you use it for is the maintenance of a fucking scrap book! This isn't preserving anything!"

"Don't be a fool and cast this aside, Müller! I'm offering you a place at our side! A chance to be a god! To represent your cycle!"

"And I am rejecting your offer! I'm rejecting your model of balance! I am rejecting all of this and starting over! This is not balance between organics and synthetics!"

It simply stood there, staring at me. "So this is it? The answer is 'no'?" it asked, its voice trembling with rage.

"Did I not yell enough?"

In a puff of smoke, Harbinger and the scene around us disappeared, depositing me on a snow and ice ridden planet. All around me, spikes of ice stretched into the sky and a harsh blizzard reduced visibility of anything beyond one kilometer. **"So be it. Dispose him. Properly."**

* * *

Another soldier went down as the Illusive-Thing fired its cannon, sending his body flying like a ragdoll. Garrus popped another round off, grazing its chest before it turned to fire at him. Garrus narrowly ducked to quickly reload. "It's not staying down!"

"Private! Get out of there!" Anderson barked.

Two soldiers huddled behind a console that the thing was slowly stumbling towards. One successfully ran off while the other was impaled on its spike-claw before being disposed in the corner. Shepard went over to check the soldier, confirming his death. She rose back to her feet to keep firing at the abomination when she felt something cling onto her ankle. Linda looked down in horror as she saw the formerly dead soldier reanimate as yet another husk.

* * *

This... place... was truly an amusement park in every sense of the word. You could 'run' from one part of the system to the next and find themselves in a completely different world or era. At any moment, I could even interact with any machine from any time period, and get a feel for how it worked. Due to how I only had a pistol with me when I entered, I would occasionally pick up another ancient weapon and use it as much as possible till I ran out of ammo. The thing was, they kept coming as more of the same flaming inky black forms. If I shot them, they just dissipated and probably reformed elsewhere, endlessly respawning. **"Surrender, insect. We will make your end swift."**

I took shelter in another, elaborate apartment of some ancient species. Fuck, it was somehow exhausting to keep running in a realm that wasn't real. I really wanted to start deploying that Medusa Virus, but I had already checked my suit several times over and found nothing but empty supply pockets. I could really use a deus ex machina right now, because my options are running thin as this chapter drags on. Well, those Cerberus doctors said that the virus was probably still floating around inside me, somewhere. And that was when I noticed to my horror the new crease down the middle of my chestplate; a feature clearly lacking in actual Terran armor.

Slowly, my hand crawled to the seem and partially peeled it back like a lip before sticking a hand into my cold, dark insides. It was creepy just seeing my forearm disappear as deep as it did before feeling the back of my interior. I felt around a bit and finally found and pulled out a strangely clean syringe. The content of the vessel was a deep purple fluid, almost bubbling like a fermenting liquid. I press the plunger until the fluid spirts out the end, dripping down the side. Still, I had no insight as to how to apply it. As to answer my inquiry, my attention is directed to how the purple liquid sizzles as it hits the ground, burning small holes like drips of sulfuric acid. "Well Harbinger, here's your first prescription. I hope you're not allergic."

As if it were a patch of skin, I pressed the needle into the hard floor and pressed the plunger all the way down. It caught me by surprise just how quickly the virus caused decay. With traces of a fluorescent purple substance around the edge of each fragment, the floor began to give way like there was a sinkhole beginning to form. I ditched the needle and ran as fast as I could. Running between eras, I looked around me and watched the same symptoms crop around the planets, the stretches of distant space. Every instance within this save, every planet began to crumble like it was giving birth to a black hole.

 _"Warning: foreign entity detected. System withstanding damage."_

* * *

 **17 hrs/21 min/30 sec**

 **London, Earth**

"Here they come!"

"Hold them off!"

"I'm reloading!"

"Medic!"

Henry, Lauren, and Mary were in a two story building, firing at a hoard of husks rushing their position. With a detonator in hand, Henry pressed the trigger and watched the street lined with explosives rupture in flames, vaporizing the first wave of husks. Unfortunately, this did little to stop the mass as a whole, and only gave them an extra few seconds worth to hold them back. Reaching the foot of the building, the Husks started piling atop each other to reach their floor. Just as they began to climb in, their bodies reverted into a soupy, gray sludge, splashing onto the floor with what was left of their momentum.

"Over there! Those bastards are going down!" The tree turned to look outside to see what the soldiers were cheering on. In the distance, one of the Harvesters began to shudder, frozen in place. Cracking through its hard carapace, rays of purple light bled through before it violently imploded.

* * *

 **Elsewhere**

The platoon of Alliance soldiers were hopelessly outgunned and outnumbered, with Reapers towering in the distance. They rushed up the rubble-covered street and took cover, firing down range at mere silhouettes in the shadows. Suddenly, almost like they blinked too soon, the enemy disappeared. In the distance, what was once a pillar of fear, a monument to the unknown trembled where they stood. And as if to be struck down by something greater, they perished in a burst of purple light.

In the sky, they could almost see the sun, finally peaking through the clouds of ash.

* * *

 **Citadel Station, over Earth**

The beast was downright impossible to stop. In a matter of minutes, it took advantage of the close quarters and brought the thirty-seven men Anderson had brought up to a mere twelve. Those who didn't die from its oversized cannon arm were impaled and reanimated, no doubt by the same tech the infectors utilized elsewhere. Shoving another thermal clip into her shotgun, she stood up to fire another burst when Hackett hailed her over coms. _Shepard, what are you doing in there?_

"We're a bit busy, sir! We're at the control room, but we're pinned down by another one of the Reapers' abominations!" she yelled over the sound of the crackling of gunfire and inhuman moans.

 _Whatever it is you're doing up there, keep it up! I'm getting reports half of those things spontaneously combusted and those husks are turning into a thin, gray paste._

She looked above at the dogfights in the distance to see speckles of purple in the distance. In a moment of confusion, she gave a glance at Müller, still left in his unconscious heap.

* * *

I tripped and fell on my side from running for what seemed to have been hours. Flipping myself over, I pushed myself back away from the crumbling "ground" before it finally came to a halt. As absurdly fortunate as I had been, my relief was quickly shattered by an angered roar. **"You're not even a real soldier, are you? Is this what soldiers fight for? Destruction?! We may not agree on terms, but at least we fight for a cleaner galaxy! Get him and cease the contamination!"**

Getting back to my feet felt easier now. I knew what to do now. It's probably one of those "hit the weak spot three times" scenarios, meaning I've only got to do this two more times. So long as security doesn't ramp up too quickly, I'll have this in the bag. The only problem is that once everything in here has been poisoned, there's been no clear indication about leaving or some sort of exit. However, it wouldn't be the worst thing if this all turned out to be a one-way trip.

By the looks of my current situation, it seems that security is too worried about the virus I injected for the moment. Running my chances, my odds were at their best if I continue with a blitzkrieg approach, meaning if I keep running around and injecting the system with the Medusa Virus, I could keep them distracted, and I could focus less on pure survival. I edged on by the vast quantities of black forms attempting to contain the lingering strands of the virus' initial entry.

Man, I hope I'm doing this fast enough. Under the pressure of playing cat-and-mouse, I've developed the feeling I've been at this for at least a day now. I'll have to check the next time the story does a scene change. I'm worried that when I wake up again, it'll be revealed that I spent too much time under, that everyone had died and been turned into synthetic soup for manufacturing more Harvesters, and that they were about to turn on me when I shut them all down. That'd be such a turn-off. We may as well have gone with the indoctrination theory if that's the case.

 **"Fools! Stop focusing extensively on the damage the source is getting away. Stop it before it deploys another dose."** I smile as I start to pick up my pace. Just a single syringe alone and the big, menacing, intimidating, veil was already crumbling. Digging into my chest-mounted mouth, I pull out another syringe and lightly tap the plunger. Kneeling, I stabbed the ground, administered the virus and ran, hearing the ground giving way behind me.

 _"Warning: System damage at thirty-four percentile and counting. Anti-virus systems engage."_

* * *

 **18 hrs/02 min/08 sec Local Time**

 **Thessia, Parnitha System, Athena Nebula**

A detachment of Athame's Spear fought along with what was left of the defenses on the Asari homeworld, defending a group of refugees from the next wave of Reaper troops. The group ducked into cover as another particle beam rippled through their position. Still in cover, they didn't see the ripple of purple energy grow from within before violently tearing the dreadnoughts apart. In the setting sunlight, they only saw the synthetic beings crumble under their own weight, crashing down on their ruined planet below.

For many, it was the last day they would experience before extinction. It didn't matter what came down to save them, as they cheered for the miracle regardless.

* * *

 **"So this is what you want? Pure anarchy? Chaos? Destruction? The loss of history and monuments?"** Harbinger boomed. **"If that's all you want, then so be it. You can have a corner of the galaxy for your tortuous experiments and childish fun, just let the cycle continue!"**

Well, at least someone, somewhere is still alive. It's a shame I don't get another view of Earth yet. Or the Citadel. Dammit, I feel bad for leaving those guys up there, stuck with that thing. It sounds nasty, but it's their fight, not mine. It became apparent that most of the system was now too busy fighting the virus to handle me. Even in areas where the virus had yet to touch, the decay rapidly became more apparent, with walls each passing era looking more like some piece of abstract art or the Persistence of Memory.

Similarly to the virus, Harbinger's bartering became rampant, desperate not to pollute what was left of its network. Moments where I did encounter another black form on patrol felt like days apart, and once per "biome." I reached inside myself one more time and looked at the syringe, testing the plunger and watching the purple liquid drip out. **"I know you are smart and logical. I ask of you to know what you are committing to, what you are sabotaging for your own self-righteousness. Are you not satisfied yet? With the damage you've done, you've downsized this system by two thirds. This last dose will leave you, myself, and the closest inner-ring standing. Think about it."**

I trembled at those words. Every step of the way has been a river, with the only path being forward. When I wake up, there was no knowing what the new world would be like and what would become of myself. Anything past this sentence is set in stone as far as I was concerned. The effects this time were more immediate, with the dirt simply crumbling under me, leaving me to cling onto nothing but a rock, with the needle still jutting out. I slowly climbed back onto the rock and stopped to take a look around me.

There was nothing left. Above the pitch blackness were several floating islands in the distance, decaying from the top up with strands of the purple substance. From my lonely rock was a string of islands, floating rocks, and patches of grass like stepping stones, conveniently leading to some endless pillar in the distance. **"That's it. You've destroyed it all. In your bid to prove a non-existent point, you childishly ran around, tearing everything apart like a toddler ripping up a train table with no knowledge of what he's destroying. Do you feel happy now? Do you feel some inadequacy that you had eating away from your childhood? Feeling unaccomplished as nothing more than an attack dog?"**

"There's a solution just looking at you, Harbinger," I replied, acid rolling off the tongue. "I couldn't make it any more apparent to you."

 **"Then come over to me. We'll have a more personal talk, act like adults. Take your time, we aren't going anywhere."** One by one, I began hopping from island to island like it was a game of hopscotch.

* * *

 **13 hrs/07 min/04 sec**

 **Tuchanka, Aralahk System, Krogan DMZ**

Wrex stomped out from his command center, unsure of what he just witnessed from the projected board in the war room. Outside, Krogans of every stripe cheered, thrusting weapons into the air. "What's going on? What happened?" he demanded.

The moment he stepped into the open, he saw the shattered remains of the Reapers like broken porcelain on the horizon. He was a proud warrior, but still struggled to blink back the tears. "Dammit. Shepard, Müller, you did it again you glorious bastards."

* * *

Thanks, Wrex. Your word of encouragement makes all the difference. I pick up a foreign rifle lain against the side of a tree and swing it over my shoulder and tug sharply on the strap. The pillar of the center was actually a closed Citadel, with its shape stretching much farther than it actually was in real life. Actually, saying "in real life" sounds very contradictory. Like how it was normally depicted, perhaps.

On the outside was a small hatch left open to the last island on the chain, waiting for me. I climbed inside and closed the door behind me, following the narrow pathway ahead. At the end was another seal hatch that automatically opened as I approached it. Immediately, I was presented with a very familiar area. It was the walkway out of the corpse room and to the Citadel control room, with the exception of the path being much wider as was the radius of the central chamber. Stepping inside, the door immediately shut, the the holographic lighting lit the room, with Harbinger in place of the center holograph table, sitting with legs crossed on the floor.

His body was still a flaming black void, with no distinct traits besides a nose and a chin for its head. Harbinger's voice didn't boom like it had previously and the flames almost jumped with every word it spoke. "Congratulations. You found me. Of all your pointless rambling and aimless wandering, you arrived. On a railroad, but you have arrived nonetheless. Would you care to explain how you are _still_ alive?"

I inhaled and honestly answered, "I don't know. There were millions of moments where I shouldn't have survived and out of all reason shouldn't have been the man leading the charge on the resistance effort, yet there I was at the front lines. Maybe it's just the inconsistencies I've seen up until this point."

Standing up, it acknowledged with, "You and I aren't too different at the end of the day, at least in form. We are both children of impotent fools who sought to build something beyond their control that would 'protect' them and their people and we both see that they are equally incapable of protecting, much less managing themselves. The Asari and their incessant greed to be the technologically superior ones, the Turians and their laughable sense of governing, the Salarians and their inability to learn from foresight, the Humans and their lack of caution, the Krogan and their lack of self-control, the Quarians and their hubris, you know it to be true! Why do you protect them."

"I protect them because there is a better solution to this madness. Streamlined, downsized, yet improved. The relays are the eyes and ears, the Citadel the brain and manufacturing, and the organics the hands if they are asked properly."

"An acceptable model, yes. But I would rather anyone else on that throne than you, _Fredrick_." The flames dissipated to reveal a doctor's uniform from ages ago and a face I had not seen for well over a century.

"Andrew?"

Harbinger smiled. "What are you but a newer, yet inferior model to myself? This is your final test. Prove you are worthy." With green biotics of its own, it telekinetically snatched my sidearm, my stolen rifle, and my blade away from me and crushed them with ease.

* * *

 **17 hrs/24 min/24 sec**

 **Citadel Station, over Earth**

They came up with thirty-seven men close behind them. Now it was five. Fortunately, the Illusive-Thing was running out of bodies to reanimate. Now, they were kiting the thing around the damaged control room, keeping at least half of the area between themselves and it. Linda tossed her last grenade at the thing before getting up and sprinting. In retaliation, it shot at Anderson, causing him to fall over as the shot grazed his lower leg. "Anderson!"

She whipped around and attempted to fend the thing off while she dragged him to safety only to be smacked aside. Garrus in turn raced to her side to help her back up. Both looked to Anderson as the husk reached its arm back in anticipation of impaling Anderson next. Linda drew air for a scream and reached out for her former CO, bidding for his life when the arm stopped just short of Anderson's body. It began to twitch involuntarily, perhaps as the damage finally took tole. Through its eyes and gradually its implants, beams of white light shown through and it screamed in agony.

Covering their eyes, Anderson, Garrus, James, the last five soldiers, and Linda averted their gaze just as it exploded in white light, blinding everyone.

* * *

It had been a long fight against Harbinger, using biotics and nanite daggers alone. Every now and then, we would charge at each other to grind at each other in CQC. Like a bloodied boxing match, it was only until I threw one more nanite blade at it. The blade lodged in its pectoral, hurling Harbinger against the ground. As boringly cliché as it was, everything seemed to ache as I lumbered over to him. With a painful growl, it hissed, "Why won't you die? Why won't you die?!"

My head ached, and all I could initially muster was a shake of the head and a shrug. "Plot armor, I guess."

"W... what?!"

"Plot armor, where someone just cannot die because they're important." I stepped closer, syringe in hand, poised to attack.

Harbinger burst out into a painful laughter. "That's... an interesting theory... Why don't we test that out?" It had been clutching its injury, and now yanked out the nanite blade to retaliate. I blocked and I lunched forward with the other hand, planting the needle right in "Andrew's" forehead. Harbinger spasmed as the virus pulsed through his systems. I attempted to crawl away as it spasmed, purple energy jutting out of its dissolving face.

In a blinding explosion, the rendition of the Citadel began to crumble into its pixel components, before being whisked away into a purple whirlpool. On the edges of the control room, I clung on to whatever I could, arms screaming in a drunken mix of pain and exhaustion. Finally, the bizarre and lawless physics of this universe decided for me, causing the rubble to give way and drop me into the black hole below. I shut my eyes tight, expecting nothing but... nothing... that sounded better in my head.

At first, there was nothing but the sound of my own thoughts. From what death had been described to me so often, it was pitch blackness. You sensed nothing, you thought nothing, you did nothing, and in essence one became nothing. Is this what death was truly like? Because if it is, maybe I should've just let the others continue with one of the other choices presented. Suddenly, a single light source stabs my corneas painfully. Given enough time, I just briefly see a few words: "Project Director: Casey Hudson".

Am I dreaming? What's going on? "Lead Designer: Preso... Seriously?" I read aloud. This was a credits roll. That was it. That was _it._ There was _nothing_ beyond that point. Now I'm feeling sick to my stomach with a endless pit of dread and pointlessness. I can't believe I actually _thought_ my actions meant something.


	17. Chapter 18: An End Once and For All

Chapter 18: An End On*^(%*&^T

 _My eyes closed for a second, giving time to contemplate everything that had lead up to this point in history. Everyone around me was bickering in regard to the fate of the Galaxy, so I just needed to shut it all out for a moment, thinking about what was about to be done. The path seemed straightforward, but there was only so far any of us could see into the dense fog. The solution was obvious. It had to be done.  
_

* * *

"I..." My eyes opened up, the yelling had ceased, the Citadel and companions around me had faded away, and all I was could see was pitch blackness and myself. I was completely weightless too, floating aimlessly with no other forces tugging on me from what I could tell. "What...?"

I could hear the shifting of my armor plates shifting outside of my helmet, and decided on that alone that I wasn't in pure vacuum. I took a deep breath as I yanked my helmet off, the distinct hiss echoing off non-existent walls. "Hello? … Hello? … Hel-?..." I called, words echoing off the walls of a well. "Anyone? … Anyone? … Any-?..." Alright, this was becoming increasingly irritating. "Can anyone hear me? … No they can't … Fuck y-…"

That was when I noticed a light glow on the back of my neck. Barely flipping myself over, I turned to look at the source of the light. It was a confusing sight initially, staring at a wall of words, both blue and white. Where am I? And what's with the messed up chapter count?

* * *

 **July 11, 2186**

 **17 hrs/25 min/37 sec**

 **Citadel station, over Earth**

James was the first to reach Fredrick when the protective barrier finally dropped. "Councilor? Lobo's out, but alive. Orders?"

"We'll take him back with us on the shuttle. For now, start collecting tags," Anderson ordered. "You feeling alright Shepard?"

"Yeah... did we win?" Linda looked above. The Crucible didn't fire once, yet a stray Reaper leg floated on by in the distance. "At least we're alive."

"The problem now is the Mass Relays," Garrus reminded. "I don't suppose those will suddenly start back up again, will they?"

"First things first, Garrus. We've got to start cleaning up here before we can get anything done anywhere else," Linda reminded. "Wing Commander, you still there?"

Amory replied, _Loud and clear, commander. I'm bringing the_ Normandy _up with the side of the Citadel. What happened down there?_

She grunted as she helped drag Fredrick onto a stretcher. "We're fine, and the Reapers seem to have all died for once. However, Müller's down, and there's no way we can properly gage his condition until we get him to the medbay. Let Chakwas and Mordin know we're coming aboard."

 _Fuck, that crazy bastard. I'll send the shuttle down in a moment._

From the control room, they exited out into the Presidium where they patiently waited for Steve to pick them up. It was a calm, quiet ride back to the _Normandy_ , and not a peep came out from anyone. It was strange to see Müller on his ass for once, seeing how he did not stop every step of the way back to the Citadel. Now, the suit was quiet, with no indication of his condition besides the squadmate-health indicator on her suit HUD. Garrus reached an arm around her and held her close. "It's over. You can relax now."

The attitude back on the _Normandy_ was more a grateful relief than a victorious outcry. The Crucible they all pinned their hopes on didn't fire, but somehow everything turned out for the best. With some help from Amory, Mordin and Chakwas were able to slowly strip the armor off of Fredrick's body to better examine the damage underneath. He was unharmed but comatose, much to Ashley's chagrin. Finally, with Liara's help to maintain secrecy, they contacted Nolan and invited him to their ship while the vast majority of Terran forces were still regrouping. Running one more system diagnostics, he grimly concluded, "That's that. Fred's a Harvester now, and there's not much I can do for him."

"Hmm, yes. Reaper problematic. Question remains. What is to be done?" Mordin replied.

"We can't just kill him," Ashley interrupted.

"I'm not sure if that's what my superiors want," Henry informed. "Due to his biological changes, he's right now off the radar completely, meaning he doesn't show up on our networks as being alive, existing, or anywhere in the galaxy. Additionally, I don't think he'd be allowed to resync with the network."

"Why not? What ramifications would there be?" Shepard asked.

"His body still retains traces of a reworked Old Machine virus," Legion finally added. "Connecting him to a network in his current state would have unknown ramifications and would possibly spread to other entities connected."

"Meaning he would only pollute the system and convert everyone else," Nolan finished. "For all I know, he'll be executed for national safety. Let's not get started on what other governments will demand once everyone knows what really happened."

"Perhaps. In that regard, unspoken should remain unspoken," Mordin concluded.

"We'll keep him in the medbay for now, see if he improves. I don't want him moved from this ship either should he be compromised," Shepard ordered. "Just give him some time for now."

* * *

Oh. Now I remember. The end of that last chapter was just plain stupid. God, what a clusterfuck. Not only am I still floating around in some unfinished segment of the story, but I'm also in a fucking coma of all things.

Not to shit on anyone's story in particular or to completely come across as condescending to anyone who's undergone a similar experience or has family member who are stuck in a coma, but I really despise using a coma as a plot device. It's an excess of tension built up from someone being _asleep_. It's the same thing with whole scenes revolving around the main protagonist having his or her ass kicked by the final boss before defeating the boss in some miraculous way, but it at least has the decency to keep you on the edge of your seat. When its a coma, it could be twenty chapters straight of asking oneself "are they awake yet" like its waiting for some really exhausted parents to finally get up on Christmas morning after a long night of arranging presents under a tree.

Honestly, they'd do me a service if they just outright euthanized me at this point. I don't want to wake up during a day and age where some new chick just straight-up tells me, "you've been out like a light for a few decades, Mordin and Chakwas have long since expired, Ashley has moved on, everyone now has grandchildren, and you've somehow haven't aged a day." Then again, I don't want to leave Ashley sitting there waiting for me to finally roll out of bed, shedding a waterfall night after night. As much flak as she gets for being speciesist, people really need to pay attention to where she's coming from and she deserves better than the lack of development she received.

That reminds me, now that I'm a Harvester, am I just going to age like a mountain now? I'm just going to be lying around, dick in hand while everyone I've come to know and care for eventually passes on. This is what bothers me about people who wish they were immortal. They have no friends and are incredibly basic people. What's the point of sitting around 'till the end of time? The only real thing to fear in death is what you might miss out on. Then again, some things are just never going to arrive, like the Titanic or the third half-life.

* * *

 **July 18, 2186**

 **11 hrs/50 min/12 sec**

 **SSV Orizaba, overlooking the relay into the Sol System**

Hackett stroked the bristles on his chin as he listened to the tail end of Shepard's tale. It was bad enough that the Citadel was now situated in their own galaxy, but this was something else entirely. "So that's how it all came to be? That's how we won without firing the Crucible?"

"At least that's how I heard it. A few days after we took him in to the _Normandy_ a group of former-Cerberus scientists under Miranda Lawson's care told me about a project they were running under the circumstances the Crucible failed. That's when I learned about the Medusa Virus," she confirmed.

The admiral walked back up the bridge to the sight of various engineers of every race present attempting to restart the relay back out of the Humans' home system. "Tell me, how many others know of this?"

"Currently, you, my entire crew, Councilor Anderson, and the higher ranking officers within the Terran Military and government. They're of the same mind: he's to be held on my ship and kept there until everyone forgets about the Crucible. If he wakes up and turns out to be hostile, he is to be executed. Anderson in the meantime took up the job of cleaning up for us. In the meantime, how's the Mass Relay coming along?"

Hackett shook his head. "Still a work-in-progress. There doesn't appear to be any sort of damage, but it's stuck in a sleep-mode. Same goes with long-range communications. We've gotten word from Tuchanka that the Reapers there shut down in the same way they did here and that any indoctrinated victims have now been reduced to little more than empty sacks, wandering aimlessly. Still, it's only a few systems we've been able to contact."

"So anything fro... anything from..." Linda tried to continue when she was suddenly distracted by the reactivation of the relay. "Huh, they got it to work. That was... fast."

"Admiral, I'm getting word from the engineers below. The relay spontaneously reactivated," a bridge officer reported.

Admiral Hackett whipped around with a confused look. "What?"

"They're saying none of their inputs had any actual impact. The system simply restarted on its own."

He turned back to the window. "Shepard, take the _Normandy_ out and head through the relay. Get a good look out there and see if its really clear."

Linda raised a brow. "And the package?"

"Officially, the _Normandy_ is a recon vessel, not a medical vessel. If it just sits there, someone might start asking questions. That's an order."

* * *

Dammit, they're getting all the interesting stuff. Meanwhile, I'm still floating around, in an empty void, and the credits have long since ended. At least I could be given something to look at. The weightlessness was starting to get at me too. I could physically feel my muscles begin to atrophy. That was when I felt a force tugging at the small of my back. And then I was falling.

I tried to flip myself around to see what I was falling to or what was falling towards me. It was a small, white blip that was growing bigger with distance. Putting my hands in front of my head, I landed face first on the ground underneath. It wasn't deathly painful, but the impact still hurt like I had drunkenly decided to jump off a small bridge without my armor. Getting back to my feet, I took a moment to look around me. It was the Citadel.

"Hello? Harbinger?" It had been the same position I had awoken in when I interfaced with the Citadel control room, so I was half expecting him to reappear. Nothing came. I looked around to see if anything was still present besides the rendition of Keepers, performing their endless maintenance of the station. Like lightbulbs, a few people began to flicker into existence, motionless in some form of a mid-walking stance.

Finally, a set of words formed overhead. "Finalizing Update Installation. Please do not shut down. 17%." Oh, for Christ's sake.

* * *

 **August 29, 2186**

 **12 hrs/27 min/45 sec**

 **SSV _Normandy_ , en route to Athena Nebula**

Over a month after the Reaper War had officially ended, the galaxy had began to recover, with three fifths of the initial population having perished during the war, with the Batarians having taken the greatest losses. The new galaxy that arose afterwards was a strange one, as races who would otherwise have not even been seen together without hostile glares were now commonplace. The Geth and Quarians had reunified, the Batarians were no longer so isolated or hellbent on maintaining their ranking system, the Krogan, Asari, and Salarians worked shoulder to shoulder to repair what they had lost during the war, and Turians and Humans could finally sit at the table without the stigmas developed from the First Contact/Relay314 Conflict from giving rise to arguments.

She was currently off to visit the Shadow Broker in regard to the stability of political matters, now that the crown of government had been properly tarnished. At least she would be off to visit Liara if she weren't chasing her children around the Captains' quarters. In the days after the war, they passed through the refugee camps and picked out a Turian girl and Human boy to be adopted out. "Get out from under there!" she barked.

"Is everything alright up here?" Garrus asked walking into the bedroom from the elevator.

"Yeah, Fred and Antosia are being a pain in the ass," she groaned, getting back to her feet.

"Sorry. Turian females are certainly jumpy as kids," he laughed, picking up their daughter as she made a run across the room.

She gave him a sarcastic glare. "That's quite the understatement. C'mon you two, off to bed."

* * *

It's good to know that in the eyes of some, I shall be judged in lighter terms. As MacArthur said at the end of the war, it is my hope, and the hope of all who endured this experience that a better galaxy shall emerge from the blood and carnage of the past. That in a scenario where it was a matter of cooperation or extinction, we became closer than ever before and learned to put aside our differences against a greater, common enemy. I suppose that's the ultimate lesson of this event.

Still, I worry for Max and the others upon the voyage to the Andromeda galaxy and what they'll find there. I hope the bugs there aren't too bad. I just might consider visiting some day if it's not an absolute hell-hole. Or, I wonder what they'll find _if_ they get back. Chances are, half of them are expecting to find nothing but the seeds of some new civilization after the Harvesters stomp everything.

I get back up and move over towards Earth. Like Harbinger said it would be, everything within the last fifty-thousand years and onward has been recorded. It's a bit situational, but its certainly nice to have it all there for me to pick through at any time I want, see who actually managed to remember history correctly. It feels nice getting to laugh at a bunch of people.

* * *

 **Oct 17, 2186**

 **18 hrs/53 min/33 sec**

 **SSV _Normandy_ , Citadel docks, Sol System, Local Cluster**

"So, she's actually warming up to you," Ashley snickered.

Kaidan brushed a nervous hand against his slowly healing bruise and lightly fractured cheek bone. "Yeah, it had to happen eventually. For now, we're just friends. Friends who kick the shit out of each other every now and then, but... it's a love-hate relationship."

"It's good to know you've got someone. Excuse me." Finished with her dinner, she got up and disposed of her meal tray at the kitchen area of the mess hall before walking back to the medbay. Watching a group of Terran officers leave, she walked into the open medbay and walked to the bed at the end of the isle. His armor had been stripped off had been stored in the armory upstairs with his footlocker.

She dragged a chair forward and sat beside Fredrick, putting a palm against his forehead, ignoring the IV drips and other monitoring devices to make sure he was healthy. "Hey, Fred. It's been three months since you saved the day," she started. "Everything's so different now. I mean, you know how I'd give Garrus, Liara, Tali, or Wrex for being non-Human when they first got aboard, and I'm sure this wasn't an uncommon thing galaxy wide and from other species too. Now it's something people couldn't care less about. Rebuilding is still far from over. Hell, we're still counting the dead and most of the major cities on Earth are still rubble or large open lots once the pieces have been picked up and moved away to make new parts to build from. We're all alive and smiling even as we huddle in ruined houses by car-fires, except you're not."

Ashley cupped her synthetic hand in Fredrick's hand and clasped down. "Please wake up. I miss you so much and you're really missing out. You deserve better than this."

* * *

Alright, that was admittedly cheesy, but did I not make my point from earlier? This is drama formed from me being unconscious. This is alright for maybe a chapter or two, but it becomes obnoxious if it drags on for too long. Besides, am I still updating? I look over at the progress bar to see I'm somewhere around the forty-three percentile. Better than before.

I get back up to my feet and walk away from Pallaven. I suppose that's enough Turian history for now anyways. If anything, I should be spending time looking at the Batarians. It was never really explained how they ended up with such an unstable, morally bankrupt culture in the first place. In fact, now would be the time to perfectly reflect on my own origins and discuss just how messed up my own background story is.

From childhood to when I met Commander Shepard, it's forty percent origin story, thirty percent themes that don't go anywhere, twenty percent fan-service, and ten percent logic that's absurdly inconsistent. I can at least say the guy who slapped this together put some effort into consistency with the names and places used. But then, the components revolving around the original trilogy don't really improve either. There were so many missed opportunities and it generally felt like more of the same.

The first one was alright, but the combat felt so weird and distracting. It was at least good to know that when that sweet spot was reached, one could really begin to clean house. It helped distract from the fact that all the dungeons were based on the same layout over and over again, the vehicular combat was godawful, and the writing was a tad bit clunky. Still, it was an admirable effort.

Then there was the second one, and all logic went out the window. It was an example of quality over quantity and definitely improved characters, environments, music to some extent, and combat. However, the equipment customization felt limited to how it was prior in the face of preparing for the Collectors, the dungeons felt very simple, fast, and were few and far apart, and lacked the same open-ness. Hell, everything felt more like a visit to the PotC ride at Disneyland, and everything was sort of on display before the team was railroaded into the next mission. At least the music was catchy and things felt more badass.

And I'm not sure where I stand on the third one. I guess its a vicious cycle among trilogies. The first one revolves around a bit of world building, some uncertain threat, is generally well paced, and the story wraps up very nicely and can be considered a complete story. The second requires more rudimentary understanding of the lore to understand why things are going in and out, is more streamlined and fast paced, and revolves around some lesser threat for the time being. After spending a few years jacking off, the protagonist wakes back up, deals with the threat, and is thoroughly reminded the big bad is still out there. And then the third installment comes out and everything is ramped up to eleven and set to break-neck speed. The combat was finally buttery smooth, but nothing made sense anymore.

And I get I'm complaining a lot, and it usually rubs on people the wrong way. However, after all the shit I've had to put up with, I definitely deserve better. But maybe things will improve after this... well, then again...

* * *

 **Jan 29, 2187**

 **14 hrs/11 min/22 sec**

 **New Delta Spaceport, Khonsu, Ra System, Nile Nebula**

Nolan checked over the list of shipment items before walking up the plank to his vessel. "Strange to think after all these years, we're finally providing relief aid to the Batarians?"

Mary was walking alongside, rifle over her shoulder. "Naw doubt, but Ah think it's aboot time anyways. We've been at this fer yonks."

"I was just noting how times have finally changed." The two old friends walked aboard the dreadnought as final preparations were in play. It was strange heading to the Batarians not to bombard them to kingdom come.

* * *

I mean, would that make the prequels a series of good "bad movies" like the Room? If one were to look at the parts as a whole, one can somewhat see a story going on, even if everything is hammered into its place for the originals by the end. Hold the fuck up, what am I talking about? I'm still playing tennis against a very basic VI. By now, I've seen all I can see from the vast quantities of stored history and data I could find about this cycle. To be honest, there's not much to see, and I'm starting to regret having burned away everything else. It would've been at least more interesting.

Man, I've been here long enough to waste time thinking about ancient movies while spending minimal processing power to play a sport. When is this update going to finish anyways? Coma chapters can only go on for so long until the audience gets bored. I hastily ended the game and walked back out to... I don't know what I'm talking about anymore. I'm treating this VR-bullshit like it's reality. Though, for all I can tell, this is reality and I've broken it in half like multiplayer balance from incompetent developers. On the bright side, when I finally checked, the update bar read "Installation Finished. Beginning Restart."

Oho! Look who took its time to finish! Now... now what? I'm still not seeing anything. I get that this restart process after updating isn't exactly the fastest, but-

* * *

 **Feb 21, 2187**

 **09 hrs/44 min/58 sec**

 **SSV _Normandy_ ,Citadel dock, Sol System, Local Cluster**

Shepard decided to temporarily hand her position over to Kaidan for the time being. She loved traveling as much she did, but with a family in her hands, she needed a place to settle down for once, and being on the move constantly was not the way to do it. Besides, everyone needed a bit of shore leave before command was completely handed over. Her belongings had already been moved outside, but she did one last round for some time, becoming familiar with the ship. She paused in the mess hall as she looked into the medbay to see Ashley on a seat next to Fredrick's bed.

She decided to peak inside for once. "Hey Ashe, you alright?"

Ashley replied with a small gasp. "You scared me for a moment, Skipper."

"Sorry about that. I know you're still waiting for the moment for him to jump back up again. Look, once I'm done moving my stuff back into Anderson's place, we can all head to a bar and have drinks. Maybe visit Joker now that he's in physical rehab. My treat, okay?"

"Alright, Skipper." Ashley looked down and put a hand on his cheek. "I won't be long, alright?" She got up and walked out.

His face remained unchanging, like a statue. The only sign that he was still alive was the medical equipment by the side of his bed and his steady breathing. I suddenly woke up, gasping for breath.


	18. Chapter 19: Cogito Ergo Sum

Chapter 19: Cogito Ergo Sum

 **Feb 21, 2187**

 **09 hrs/48 min/15 sec**

 **SSV _Normandy_ ,Citadel dock, Sol System, Local Cluster**

I took a moment to look around to gather my bearings. I was in a medical gown, with an IV drip lodged into my neck. As my vision properly adjusted, I found the blurb wasn't lying when I was placed right back onto the _Normandy_. Tearing off the medical equipment and slowly kicking off the covers, I spotted an adrenaline shot by the bed across from myself. I closed my eyes, and reached out a hand, struggling to focus my biotic capabilities.

I discovered the hard way from the time I got out of maximum security back on Khonsu that adrenaline was extremely beneficial for restarting biomechanical equipment after prolonged disuse. Like how muscles atrophy from inactivity, so will mechanical implants. However, a shot of adrenaline would help to kick-start the implants, like a shot of expresso coffee. I peeked an eye open to see that the needle had swung my direction, but hadn't made any actual progress rolling towards me. I tried again, only to yank the needle onto the floor. The cap was still on, so the device was still intact.

Grunting in annoyance, I started to lean over, reaching for the syringe. In impatience, I yanked myself too hard, causing me to tip over the side and fall onto the floor. _"Fredrick_ _, I was unaware you were awake,_ _"_ EDI's monotone voice buzzed from the ship intercom.

With the pain of the impact and injecting myself with the still untouched syringe, I panted, "EDI... you're still... functional?"

 _"I understand your concern. It has been approximately seven months and four days standard galactic time since you were rendered unconscious. Everyone else is on leave, and my module is currently visiting Jeff at Huerta. Would you like me to alert Shepard of your awakening?"_

"Yeah, go ahead. I can... I can get everything... else myself." I grunted as I found and injected another adrenaline shot. Finally, everything was starting to work properly again, with my limbs and body beginning to cooperate. Looking behind me, my footlocker was definitely no longer there, as was probably my armor and my toiletries. I stumbled back onto my feet and slogged out of the medbay for the men's bathrooms. Strange to see the ship empty for once, not a man or NPC in sight. Entering the restroom, I tear off the medical gown and turn a faucet tap, rinsing my face with water.

I looked to the mirror, not too much has changed since the coma started. The beard had reached the point of more resembling a shrub than facial hair, and the hair on the top of my head had reached what looked to be a maximum height, but still two-three inches too tall. Where my sideburns are, just visibly underneath the skin like veins, were strands of bioelectrics, disappearing into my hair. Along my synthetic arms and legs were now ribbons of silver, intertwined with the carbon-fiber like material. Finally, my eyes now glowed a subtle green. From a distance, they might look to be a jade-green, and would only become apparent otherwise upon closer inspection or in the dark.

Now that I could think past the foggy mist of waking up, I took the time to review news and events over the last several months through the knowledge collected by the relays and the Citadel. While people were still in the borderless cooperation built up from the war, it was now apparent that resources could only go so far. It was taking longer to reestablish colonies destroyed by the war and resources to rebuild and maintain were being stretched thin, despite how much room was opened up from the severely decreased population. As for dissenting opinions, the layers of controversy surrounding the Turian's bomb on Tuchanka, the Salarian's labs and attempt at a Genophage cure sabotage, and the Asari keeping a Prothean VI for the purpose of boosting themselves above all the other species was proving to be their comeuppance in the later months after the war ended. Finally, there were a few such as the Dalatress, purely invested in restoring the status quo of the world before, but I could have them dealt with in the days to come.

After a quick shower, I hustled back up the elevator to the armory. If I recall from the blurbs last chapter, my stuff was put up in there for safe keeping for whatever reason. Speaking of last chapter, what happened to their distrust of me? I figured by now, they'd want to kill me in my sleep, kill the beast in its crib before it became a problem. But, if I keep the Harvester business to a downsized minimum, maybe this can work from now on. Sure enough, these idiots kept everything in the corner, with the armor stacked nicely on top.

"EDI, if anyone is coming back, how far out are they?" I asked.

 _"Specter Williams is approximately twenty minutes out. She's on a shuttle returning to the_ Normandy _. Is there anything else you'd wish to know?"_

"Nothing for now. Tell Jeff I said hello." For once, I just put on civilian clothing. It was a strange sight seeing myself in a sweater and jeans, but there was no need to run off and shoot anything. I did, however, put on the holster for my pistol and charging component to my armor for the ammunition. I took a moment to observe the pistol before slipping it into its holster. A few years back during the first game, I got a paint job for it to match my armor. Now, the paint had chipped away and the exterior of the gun had become heavily scratched from lack of full maintenance due to desire to maintain the paint skin.

Fully equipped, I exited the armory onto the bridge and eventually the airlock. Exiting as the sterilization cycle ended, I walked outside to see a taxi stopping by the edge of the dock. With disregard for ramp safety, I rushed down and met Ashely head on, holding her close in my arms. "God, I thought you'd never wake up."

Chuckling, I simply acknowledged, "I thought so too."

"Are you okay? You were out for some time, and what Mordin and your friend Nolan said-"

"Ssshhhh... It's alright. I know I'll have to answer a few questions, but I promise you: everything will come out fine."

"Even the Reaper stuff?"

"Trust me, I know how to play it off." Maybe Ashley did have some right to be worried when I was called in by the Council not one week later. Still in civies, Shepard, Ashley, Nolan, and myself walked up to Anderson's office where I wouldn't be able to physically access the Council over a projected conversation. Anderson, on the other hand, was content with standing in the open. What was surprising was the expansion of the Council to now include Eve, Tali, Legion with a fully repaired body chassis, some Terran official, and a Batarian, each representing their respective species.

"Good to see you're willing to behave yourself, colonel," Anderson sighed as I entered.

I eyed a balcony across the way from his office on the Presidium. "Well, I got to behave for now. Sniper across the ridge."

"What?" the Human Councilor followed my gaze.

"He's hard to see, but I've got eyes on his omnitool signal. He's constantly communicating with what looks to be yourself and the other councilors. I see your earpiece too."

"Look-"

"No, no, it's all within the confines of understandable."

 _"Fred. It's good to see you're back on your feet, though I wish we didn't have to meet like this,"_ Wrex greeted.

I nodded. "Likewise, Wrex. It's good to see they've finally expanded the Council too after this whole mess."

 _"Yes. It was a pretty straightforward necessity after the Reapers had been defeated,"_ Sparatus acknowledged uncharacteristically. _"With how uncoordinated we were towards the start of the war, as you Humans say it, we needed to rebuild a few bridges."_

 _"However, as was previously discussed by the Terran Republic, the conditions of your initial disappearance and reappearance as well as your personal health have been a matter of widespread concern, at least among the higher ranks,"_ the Batarian Councilor continued. _"Would you care to explain?"_

As rash as my decision may be, I believed it would be detrimental to beat around the bush. "Let's be blunt. By now, I am a fully developed Reaper, and my body the platform I work from. As per my capabilities, I have access to the Citadel, the relays, and the networks tied to such structures..."

 _"If you are to be classified as an Old Machine, what is to prevent you from acting as a threat?"_ Legion blurted.

"I haven't finished. The first AI that I took the place of was meant to find some peaceful medium between synthetic and organic life. With minimal oversight, this backfired, and we ended up with a mess millions of years in the making. My job is to make sure you all get along, but not by reducing everyone to a synthetic goop. Additionally, I feel that using infection or indoctrination as a means of getting matters done is ineffective and messy, considering I've reduced an otherwise healthy individual to a bumbling mess."

Tali groaned with annoyance and palmed her mask with exasperation. _"You're not helping..."_

"I'm here as an autopilot. With the resources I have access to, I'm to calculate the best course of action and adjust or prompt adjustment to fit accordingly and prevent everyone else from crashing. While constants like conflict, disease, crime, and poverty are all unavoidable and cannot be completely eliminated without somehow breaking the system in half, it is my duty to help mitigate the effects of those variables and maintain all races so that each one develops at a relatively similar pace. Yes, this may mean possibly straining innovation or artificially injecting development, this is to ensure no one species gets miles ahead of the others. _Tevos_."

The little bitch flinched like a child that had just been falsely accused of stealing cookies from the pantry. That was when the Terran Councilor sharply addressed, _"Don't forget where you came from, colonel. We can always excise you from the equation."_

I paused for a few seconds, taking the time to calculate his proposition. "And you can. If you feel like this isn't a system that works and you want to render yourselves independent, you can. Just keep in mind that if you do feel like developing technology and a system independent of me, you're looking at an extensive investment in terms of time and resources. Given you can properly coordinate the construction of a new galaxy-wide fail-safe system with minimal interference from the aforementioned constants _and_ achieve a similar system to what we have right now, you're looking at an additional twenty millennia down the line. For all we know, that expedition off to the Andromeda galaxy would have long since made their way back. Even if that's simply a hypothetical based upon no data from that galaxy. I'm just saying that you're all probably better off just letting me rest at the helm and handle some matters that would otherwise be beyond your control. Yes, it might mean the forceful causation of some events, it's meant to otherwise allow you to be where you are."

Christ, that was a long speech. At least it's got the council thinking, and maybe what looks to be Jondum Bau wont try to take my head off. However, Valern did speak up and asked, _"Very well, but what if you were to be killed or assassinated? What would become of the system?"_

"The infrastructure still retains my memories and identity. While it would be a minor inconvenience and be incredibly embarrassing all things considered, it would be possible to 3D-print another platform using the same machinery on this station that's used to mass-produce the Keepers," I explained.

Anderson's look of optimism swiftly gave way to suspicion. "And just what exactly prevents you from making copies of yourself? An army even?"

I reciprocated his look with a glance of guilt. "Simple, processing limitations. Currently, I'm processing the Citadel itself, the relays, the aforementioned network tying all these together, the Keepers, and myself. Everything else is easy to manage and takes up little processing power, but managing my body takes up a hefty chunk, with the Citadel being a close second. Adding another body would be just adding another body for me to manage, and that quickly builds up. If I were to add more and more copies of my body to control, it would becoming more and more burdensome until I finally yield and add another mind into the system. From there, it would simply be a downward spiral, and me taking up my current role wouldn't be so much a solution as it would be the starting point of a long vicious cycle. Even if with the plentiful processing capability at my disposal, that's there for a rainy day. Think of it like a limited data cloud. You can only save so much before you need to purchase additional space."

Only towards the end, did Anderson actually shift his emotional outlook. "And indoctrinated victims?"

"Control takes up just over the Keepers in terms of processing. However, control was only necessary because it's hard to walk into a building when you're two kilometers tall and need some form of infiltration. I'm two and three-tenths of a meter tall and have multiple means of walking in and doing what I want to do, so the act of indoctrination is completely redundant. Also, after I've indoctrinated and subsequently released someone from my control, there's still the issue of cleaning up the braindead person afterwards. Any other questions?"

Another pause of silence. _"So what exactly is our purpose then in your galaxy, M_ _ü_ _ller?"_ Tevos groaned.

"You're still the pilots of this miserable ship, I'm here to make sure we don't run into asteroids and tear this ship in half. Your job is to still run society and call that sniper off from across the Presidium. I'm sure we've come to a resolution now, so I don't need him looking down my neck."

 _"Very well. We can see you still know your place. Still, don't try anything,"_ Sparatus warned. _"We will work together to defeat you. Meeting adjourned."_

Most of them disconnected with the exception of Tali, Legion, and Wrex, while Anderson and Shepard just left the room. _"You do realize you may as well just have told us you had us all by the quad, right? I wouldn't object and I sure as hell would've liked to see everyone else's reaction."_

"Wrex, you know as well as I do that you can't _always_ afford to piss people off."

* * *

 **May 22, 2187**

 **08 hrs/21 min/05 sec**

 **My dingy apartment on the Citadel**

I'm not going to give the full details, but I may as well leave the bits towards the end of this conversation. _"So what do you need me for, then?"_ Aria inquired.

It's been the question on everyone's tongue. Wrex was right when he said I may as well have just said "the Galaxy is mine and there's little you can do about it unless you all truly band together." I shrugged and answered, "Well at the end of the day, I still would prefer you in your position. You're there to galvanize the criminal underworld. Make everyone recognize you're the boss."

 _"So I'm just your figurehead?"_

I rolled my eyes. "Wrong again. The underbelly is always going to be there. Just make sure everyone knows where the fence is. Otherwise, I'll have to bring down the hammer and no one will be happy. Understood?"

 _"I see. Surprising to see you're being friendly for once."_

"It's my job. Now do yours." I ended the call and scrolled over to my news feed. Recently, a Dalatress Linron had met an untimely death via a "hovercar incident" on her homeworld and in time would be replaced with someone much more preferable.

Ashley walked through the living room with a bag over her shoulder. "I'll be out for some time. I'll call you if you need help, alright?"

"I'll be here," I bayed farewell. As the front door closed, I let out a sigh. It was nice being a pseudo-king of the Galaxy and micromanaging things as I see fit has been nice, but something still felt... off. The first-person language has been going on for too long now, and I'm getting the impression that it's no longer coincidental. It's getting repetitive, and looks more unnatural by the paragraph. It just feels wrong. Maybe EDI was right when she mentioned how AIs can interpret reality in such a limited format, and this hazy divide I feel between myself and the universe around me is this greatly affected.

And I know where it all came from. Distanced, Chapter 10, all the way towards the end of the chapter. Maybe that is somehow important, as arbitrary as it was. Is she even alive still? I get up and grab a new change of clothes and a coat. Our apartment is somewhere in a more middle-wage part of the ward. It's not necessarily high-class, but Ashley and I are people of essentials rather than what we want. I still had a fortune saved up from my service in the Terran Military, and it was what I could afford with some of the wealth accumulated by thousands of wealthy individuals, now dead among billions in the aftermath of the war. Paying with some of the dead rich people cash, I took a cab up to the Presidium where I found the clinic from so long ago, once again functional.

Sha'ira had made it off the Citadel when the Harvesters arrived, which I'm thankful for. It's been a while, but if it's someone who can look through my mind, it's her. I waited patiently in the lobby while she worked with another patient. An hour later, I was called up. Her office was smaller now and the textures were much more refined. "Colonel Müller, it's been a long time," she greeted calmly.

"It's just Müller. For their own safety, I dropped out of the Terran military," I corrected. "However, same goes to you. It's good to see you're alive."

"What could still trouble you after all these years?"

"Thoughts regarding my existence. Something has been on my mind as of late, and I wanted to better explore it. Meld with me, and help me to better understand."

For once, her veil of calmness shattered. "What do you mean?"

"I'm feeling... out of touch? How would I... can you please help me to look inside?" I didn't know how to describe the symptoms.

She reached for her torso. "You know what to do. Calm yourself. _Embrace eternity."_

 _I opened my eyes. We were still on the 'Citadel,' but this time I was where Harbinger stood when I first interfaced directly with the station. On a chair before me, she woke up and looked around. "Are you alright so far?"_

 _"Yes... I suppose I should've expected this, but how fascinating that your mind is shaped. Are they... aware?" She gestured to some of the people walking by._

 _"Not really. These are just memories of those who died. Their personalities and memories are all recorded through the system. I can look through them like a book, find a specific moment or fact about them. This is the inner working of a Harvester's mind."_

 _I paused them all as she walked up to one, feeling the hands like she was about to enter a dance with them. "This... this... I wish I could explore. You know the sensation too, right? A curious child, looking at a train model and all the tunnels."_

 _"I wish I could, but maybe another day. Right now, there's this one specific memory and something from a few days ago. Could you look? I feel you'd better know than I would."_

 _Her attention turned back to me. "Where do I go?"_

 _I pulled a crystal ball from the void, generating it from the palm of my hand. "Here. You can have a look. Everything should be there."_

 _Like a moth to a light, she began to walk forward, hand reaching out to touch. For a moment, I thought nothing of the scenario._ Then I opened my eyes. I looked around, and then I saw her. On the ground before me, arms stretched out like a bird, she fell onto her back, deceased. Her eyes rolled back into her head, veins pulsating. Purple blood oozed out of her nose and mouth like she had overdosed. A quick scan indicated heavy hemorrhaging and damage to her nervous system like she had been electrocuted. I took a few steps back in shock when I received a ping on my omnitool.

I looked down. No caller ID. Nervously accepting, I asked, "Hello?"

 _"Hey, you still looking for answers?"_

I started to panic. "Who are you? How did you get my number?" I demanded.

 _"I... shit! Uh... look. I'm in deep shit right now because of you. Where the fuck are you?!"_

"Answers for answers. Now-"

 _"Oh shut your whore mouth. Where are you? I'd like to discuss further in person. I can answer everything you want to know, but only if you let me. I'm short on time, and I don't want to spend more time in here than I have to."_

"I'm at Sha'ira's clinic. What do you want?"

 _"I want to help you, dumbfuck. I'll meet you outside of the clinic over the nearest bridge. I'm half-way there, anyways. Whatever you do, just act calm."_

"I... right... act calm. What's going on."

 _"I'll explain when I get there."_ The line went dead. I looked back at the omnitool in fear. I had been pacing around the office looking about franticly. I gave Sha'ira's corpse one last look before I left.


	19. Chapter 20: Impromptu, Off Stage

Chapter 20: Impromptu, Off Stage

 _The sensation of being hunted is the most terrifying feeling. Whether its by monsters, authority, or some mix of both, you're never safe, you can never rest, and you can never have a normal life anymore until they claim and kill you or you've truly escaped. Nothing would've prepared me for what it was like outside in the open, running not from the law, not from some beast, but something higher. I refuse to call them gods lest it inflate their ego further, but I can find no substitute to describe them by._

 **May 22, 2187**

 **09 hrs/15 min/04 sec**

 **The Late Sha'ira's Clinic entrance, Citadel Station**

I walked outside, still shaken by Sha'ira's horrendous death. From what it looked like, she tried plugging in and was fried by some neural overload. I had nothing but getting distance in mind when I suddenly heard, "Hey, over here." There my contact was, sitting on the bench. He wore an outback hat that shadowed his face, a navy blue hoodie with a white Superman logo on the front, and tattered jeans that looked like they had been torn apart half a dozen times before being well stitched back together. "You took your time in there. Did you really spend that much time waddling over her corpse?"

That's what made me pause. "Who are you, and how did you-?"

"Look, I saw it unfold. Take a seat, I don't have much time. I can answer everything if you just shut up and listen. I'm Dr. Compass, I'm the writer of this iteration," he interrupted. "No doubt you've figured out you're little more than words on a page, and I want to give closure to that matter as it will reflect better on myself."

That was the kicker. I was left dumbfounded. How was I to answer? I sat down besides him and asked, "Hold up, what do you mean 'iteration'?"

"You ever wondered how things would've ended up differently? If it weren't you on this bench beside me and it was Alice? That either one side or the other won First Contact or Relay 314? If power was held by different species? I work in that department. Within each story you know, within each timeline, it splices into a million, if not billion, similar timelines, all different yet all the same," he started. "Within this 'franchise' is bundled stories within the same set of events, each time with a different Shepard, sometimes Linda's name is Jane, sometimes Julianos Vakarian's name is Castis, different people, a different story to tell, and a different conflict, but in the end always the same. Just outside is its own set or series of events stretching indefinitely before and after."

"Parallel universes?" I nodded, eyeing a few passers-by as they ignored our conversation.

"I prefer the term 'parallel timelines,'" he corrected. "Parallel universes fits more along the lines of different 'franchises' with different locals, different physics, different species, and a different story to begin with. Take for example the LotR universe. It's own contained wall of different wonders, politics, and people."

I shrugged as I looked around. "You said you were in trouble. How does this tie into me? How am I related?"

"You are _supposed_ to be a prop. An extra to serve the purpose of simply a mechanic within this timeline. They are set with a given path to interact a certain way like puppets on a stage or actors in a performance, you aren't even able to hurt us. Should they be taken out, they become little more than the mindless puppets they're supposed to be. Hell, even if I were to yell anything that would supposedly shatter their sense of reality, saying they're nothing but puppets on an enormous stage, they'd quickly forget and move on. Anything more is considered erratic, potentially dangerous should the wander outside. There are rumors of some ancient incident that many of the regulations towards this business revolve around. It's something that can go unnoticed for a long time, but you tripped them up."

"How?"

"Three chapters ago, in a single instance, you completely corrupted the data within this timeline and simultaneously reconstructed it. I no longer have administrative control of this timeline, so I need you to help me wrap things up-"

My mind jumped back to what he said before. "Hold the fuck up, if I'm just a prop, how am I talking to you? If you're the writer of this sort of thing, shouldn't you have more control of this? Prevent this sort of thing from happening in the first place?"

"I _did_. I don't know what happened, alright? Using splices of the negative components of my personality, I made you. It was generally easier to work with. I don't know, I'm still new to this."

"Wait, you're _new_ to this?! Were you never trained?" It was shocking and appalling. If anything, I'm surprised this isn't a more common issue. If anything, if they allow pure amateurs like this asshole to construct such big monuments to themselves, then I don't see why this is such a big surprise.

"This is an open-invite ordeal. Anyone with even the smallest idea can come in and attempt to construct their own timeline. Albeit, most of the time, it doesn't go well, but any Tom, Dick, and Harry can-"

"Ohoho! Hark! Is that an open invitation to rip into your work?" I interrupted. "Well allow me to give a piece of my mind!"

He glared at me. "That's not even remotely what I-"

"First of all, you have half a dozen themes that go nowhere. You have scattered throughout the story genuinely good questions regarding philosophy and more, but they sputter off like incomplete, wet fireworks into absolute nothingness. Second of all, you telegraph all of your plot points _way_ too early. I don't know if it's because I'm you and I don't know of what others think, but looking back, half of the important matters could be seen from a mile away. Third of all, how you construct your sentences is god-awful. Forth of all, once we started with the actual Mass Effect trilogy, you took far too long to get through all the nitty gritty details for each mission. I get that you want to display what a scenario would've been like had this been the original timeline, but it got obnoxiously long. Fifth of all, your attempts to rectify the original plot holes and logical fallacies strewn throughout the original story have only made the problems worse. Six-"

"Enough of your incessant whining!" He slugged me hard in the stomach, causing me to lose my breath. "Jesus, for all the issues you have encountered, you sure like to bitch about them, considering you went for the 'make all the endings true-ish' solution two chapters ago!"

"You wrote yourself into a corner! You have no excuse!"

"Enough! Look, I get my story is flawed, alright?! In the meantime, I'm still in serious trouble and now I can see just how deep this goes. In the meantime, work with me to cover this up. I don't want to forcibly dismantle this to fix everything, so just act the part of a mindless drone. At least until this story ends, alright?"

I sighed. "Fine. I still have-" Suddenly, everything besides ourselves turned to a nasty grayscale. Everything from the random NPCs to the hovercars above and water in the river froze like a movie that was put on pause. That was when a blindingly white portal opened before us and five men in black suits and ties with blurred faces walked through.

 **"Sorry, Dr. Compass. You're all out of time,"** the one in front boomed.

He stood up and gestured to me to keep sitting. "Sir, please. I'm almost done here and I've almost got a solution. Just give me a few more minutes to work this out."

 **"Allow me to rephrase that, Compass. We don't like how you're solving the problem. We're taking matters into our own hands."**

"Sir, please listen. I can still fix this. He's very reasonable. Just let me talk with him a bit longer, he still recognizes his place."

 **"You see, it's your attitude towards your creation that concerns us most. You called it a 'him,' not an 'it.' Your feelings about your pet project are clouding your judgement. We know you've been working on this timeline too long to just 'give it up,' but rules are rules and angry investors are angry investors. We'll be taking over from here."**

Two of the men in suits restrained the doctor while the other two approached me. "Hey! HEY! Tusken worked with me early on with this project! He can vouch for me!"

 **"Dragging others down with you will not accomplish anything."**

With desperate eyes, he looked to me. "Fred! Listen! This is going to be okay, alright? This will all work out. Look at me, dammit!" His words turned to dust in my ears as the two men drew closer. That was when I dove to the side. It was too close as their hands dented the bench. I knew hurting them – if I could – would only make matters worse. They were just too fast, and I had nowhere else to run.

Except out.

I ran to the white portal without thinking, diving under the fifth man and rolling back onto my feet. "Fred! Stop! Where are you going?! You're only making things worse!"

* * *

I rushed out, tripping over the door frame, and hit the controls, causing the door behind me to clamp shut. This was the first time I had a look outside. It was as Compass described it. Where I came from was a large, dark chrome pillar roughly thirty feet in diameter, like the millions of others that surrounded it. Stretching into the distance, far beyond what my eyes could process was just more pillars, each with catwalks going around and connecting them to each other. In the distance, people were traveling between pillars, too far to make much of their physical appearance. Both above and below, the pillars stretched on indefinitely, with no indication of a floor or ceiling.

Remembering my pursuers were just behind the door, I ran down the next catwalk. With no armor, no weapons, and my in-universe abilities inactive, I had no defense. Another crowd of what looked to be tourists exited the next pillar and I blended in with the crowd. Nearby, I could hear the... administrators...? I could hear them yelling, the leader still barking orders. **"Search nearby! It can't have gone far! Alert security, and get a squad down here! Move!"**

I looked for a next move outside of my cloud of people. They bustled onto a tram, and I followed them on. The doors closed, and I watched the men in suits slink around, still looking for me as a few VTOLs hovered into view. Fortunately, the civilians around me had yet to notice me, so I had a bit of leeway to properly plan my escape. The first issue is that I had nowhere to go except back. If it would be anything that'd tell them that I won't cause any trouble, it'd be to head back. Problem is they're hounding the area nearby, so I'll have to draw them off, maybe go somewhere else for a bit. But where?

* * *

 **2192 AD**

 **19 hrs/20 min/40 sec**

 _ **Somewhere...**_

Alright, this definitely sounded better in my head.

I'm currently on the bridge of some exploration vessel trying to find my way back to Earth in a universe simply called "X." And after reading the premise, this is really hitting too close to home for me. In the meantime, I'm still struggling with the controls, trying to blend in. It's been a couple of hours by now, so I get to my feet, walk up the bridge, and make for the restrooms near the back. Quickly stripping my uniform, I exit back out. I hope I didn't hit the guy _too_ hard. I should've left the poor chump a change of clothes.

And as for space-simulators, this was really... meh...

* * *

 **Sept 3, 2014**

 **Detroit, USA, Earth**

I should just learn to shut up. Because every time I open my mouth, my luck gets incrementally worse. For example, where the hell am I now? "Watch_Dogs"? This hardly makes any sense. I'm sitting at a desk dealing with perhaps the most banal interpretation of a Human being I've ever seen. This 'Pierce' fellow just takes the cake too.

Has a job as a hacker which involves more around home-made worms and walking into his target rather than attacking from his mother's/government's basement? I get that most omnitools with hacking devices use the same thing, but this is a bit blatant for the setting. Also, for being a vigilante, he appears to be causing more public damage than he is causing any good. Finally, his backstory is somehow more nonsensical and more cliché than mine.

Who developed this game? Why is it so banal? Why am I selling this guy firearms in broad daylight? I get that Detroit is stereotypically a mess, but this is just absurd. Who wrote this guy and who in their right mind felt that Pierce was a complete project? Oh good, he's done for now. And he's out the door. Well, I better get a move on.

* * *

 **Jan 22, 2078**

 **12 hrs/00 min/00 sec**

" **Hanamura", Japan, Earth**

I'm crossdressing as a futuristic angle in a victory circle, and I'm standing among a cybernetic ninja, a cowboy with a cape decorated to look like the US flag, some Chinese devil with an ice-beam cannon, a fat Mad-Max wannabe with a pig-like gas mask, and a genuinely talented woman with a rocket launcher, battle armor, and jetpack of Native American decent. It then flashes me and my uncharacteristic beard, followed by the words _"play of the game."_

Oh look, it's me reviving four of the incompetent teammates in one fell swoop, defending the last objective and winning us this game. Besides the woman with the rocket launcher and jetpack, the others felt more inclined to run off on their own. Not to sound like an entitled bitch, but from how this game plays out, the field medic is priority in terms of protection. I'm walking through the base lockers about to take off my armor when the Japanese voice calls, "Hey new guy, I-"

"You have twenty seconds to get away before I turn around and shove my staff so far up your * &, I-"

"Alright! I'm on my way!" The ninja ran off without further quarrel.

I could't help but flinch at the forced censoring of the previous expletive. That aside, I'm not coming back here again. Turning a corner, a blond Swedish woman is on a bench, still playing on her hand-held device. I started stripping off the armor before saying, "We're underappreciated."

She turned it off and looked up. "You were a fine substitute. Thanks."

"Yeah yeah. I'll be on my way." I returned to my civilian clothes and left. Walking back outside, I returned to the next cloud of strangers to make my way forward. It was probably the first time I entered something of better quality than the last, so that's a first.

* * *

 **May 12, 1911**

 **14 hrs/31 min/39 sec**

 **New Austin, USA**

The man hands me a leather bag. Peaking inside with my gloved hands, I find a small, herbal plant, just as I had asked. "Oho! Thank you, kind sir! This is just as I needed!"

The cowboy shrugs. "I'm glad I could help. Now, my payment...?"

"Yes, of course. Stay safe, Mr. Martin," I answered, handing him a few ancient bills.

"The name's 'Marston.'" He strolled calmly out of the building, followed by gunshots from farther down the street.

I watched as he left, giving a small, nervous shrug. Still twenty different franchises in, and I've witnessed plenty of what these greater beings have manufactured for themselves, from Earthbound to the Last of Us. There's a certain beauty to what they've made, but the main question still remains in my mind. What for? I'll have to ask Compass if I run into him again.

* * *

 **Star Date - Who cares**

 **Day 1 of the Manchild Crisis**

 **0600 Earth CST**

And towards the end, quality took a nose dive. Infinite Warfare? _Infinite Warfare?_ Who was passing around pot-brownies at the studio when this miserable clusterfuck came into existence? What the hell is the plot? Who wrote the story? Who was the brains behind the _infinitely_ broken multiplayer and running joke that is this franchise? Just what is the bonus mode trying to emulate and who is it trying to appeal to?

I left shortly afterwards. It was about time anyways. No doubt by now, security was spread too thin around where my origin timeline is, so I can safely return without any hassle. Getting off at the next stop from the tram, I just walked along with the crowds, head down so no one would pay attention. When I finally reached my... place, I stopped at the control panel from earlier, had a look around, and tapped the button for the door.

* * *

 **May 22, 2187**

 **08 hrs/21 min/05 sec**

 **Presidium, Citadel Station, Sol System, Local Cluster**

I ended up right back on the Presidium, overlooking the expansive high-quality life. The grayscale had turned back to color, and time resumed where it had left off before Dr. Compass initially entered to intervene. It was scary to think every wall, every person, every word on this page was composed of nothing but what? C++? I just took a seat at another nearby bench when the portal opened back up again. It was Compass. "Jesus-fucking-Christ, where the hell have you been?!"

"Running like a weasel at marketplace. So now what?"

"'Now what'? That's all you have to ask? You nearly cost me my license you ass!" he hissed. "Still, this actually might be for the better."

"How so? Aren't they still hunting for me?" I asked.

Compass hesitated. "No. After your aimless wandering, you've tied yourself into so many areas that if they were to shut this all down right now, you included, it would only cause excessive collateral damage. They've finally tracked you here, and I finally convinced them to let me handle this last bit. Given you don't seem to be out to cause any more damage, they want you to feel content for now, so I'm here to give you this." He drew a small keycard from his pocket. "You'll be able to enter and leave at your leisure, but don't make too much of a mess. Otherwise, they just might consider the collateral damage worth the price."

I accepted the gift, looking at both sides of the card. "So if... if I just behave, I'll get to live?"

"Yeah... yeah... but on one more condition on my part. Conclude this story... and quickly. The sooner you wrap this up, the sooner we can both walk away from this mess... with the skin on our ass-cheeks still intact." He turned to leave for the portal again.

"Wait, you still have one more question-"

"What more can I answer?" he grumbled.

"Why?" I started. "Why do you make us? What is the purpose of these stage? What reason do we exist?"

He turned all the way back around, outlined by the portal's glow. "It depends... people have different reasons for starting up a timeline... sometimes it's like you said, entertainment. A lot of us are entertainers. Other times, it's a twist of fun. They like to throw their own twist in, have some control. Others more, it's to explore themes and events. What-if scenarios, to better explore the Human condition, and then post their findings to an audience that might understand the significance."

"So why did you make me then?"

A pregnant pause hung in the air. "I think we both already know the answer to that one." Finally, Dr. Compass vanished through the portal.

* * *

And now, life felt increasingly dead. Maybe it's due to how everything here is going to be grinding to a halt, and finally the curtains will be finally closing. Looking back, I'm happy this is all finally over considering how much of a mess this just snowballed into. It'll be nice to just kick back for once and be in the audience opposed to being in the spotlight. Knowing that my "costars" have the actual processing capabilities of a mannequin, I'll be glad I can get out of here instead of sitting around, with nothing to do. I mean, there's only so long one can go for, forcing NPCs to go at each other with nothing new on the horizon.

I've been heading out every now and then, taking a look around, seeing what there is to offer, laughing. It's definitely quite the view, seeing what people have thought up of. Well, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes its poorly crafted, and sometimes is down-right ugly. But even in a few scenarios, there's art to be enjoyed in something so fundamentally broken, so misshapen, so crooked that one just can't make sense of it.

Take Mass Effect for instance. Don't get me wrong, it's beautiful here. The people are each pieces of art on their own, and there's clearly been passion put into it. However, we can't ignore that it's not perfect and have to acknowledge the flaws like I had two chapters ago. But the flaws are still enjoyable... until they're severely at the buyers and fans' expense.

But I digress, I've wasted enough of your time. I'll still be here. In the distance.

Okay, that last line was especially godawful.

* * *

(P.S.): What a mess. On behalf of myself and Compass, I'd like to thank the few who stuck around this long for reading.


End file.
